Don't Mess with Fire
by DeathMeetsLife
Summary: DEAD FANFIC... don't have the heart to take it down. It's like pulling the plug on your first-born child. You just can't do it.
1. Don't Mess with Fire

**Don't Mess with Fire**

**Part 1**

_Smoke… rubble… a black sky… she could feel herself running from the ruins of her home, which held her family prisoner under the crushing weight of the roof beams. She continued running away from the wreckage, never looking back, tears streaming down from her crimson eyes. Suddenly, she tripped over an upturned block of concrete, which still held the remnants of a chalk drawing some 4 year old did before being called inside for dinner, and skidded across the debris-strewn ground. She looked at her bleeding arms, her scraped-up leg… her eyes turn from crimson to scarlet. In fury, she smashed her fist into the broken sidewalk, yelling her anger to the skies. "WHY DO YOU HATE ME! WHAT DID I DO TO YOU!" "Who hates you?" a voice asked in front of her. She snapped her head up and found herself looking into cobalt eyes. A boy 5 about ­­ years old stood before you, light brown hair falling past his shoulders. Her eyes changed once more from blood-red to ice blue, revealing her relief at finding someone other than herself who lived through the mobile suit attack. He reached out to help her up, but she waved off his offer. "The name's Duo," he introduced himself. She nodded, replying, "Kaida." "Gesundheit!" She whacked his arm playfully, allowing herself a little smile. "That's my name, baka." Suddenly, shouts like "Over here!" and "It's his daughter!" "Get her!" filled the air. The yells were followed by gunfire. Duo grabbed her hand and started to run the other way. "Where-" "Just follow me!" he shouted, leading her out of the suburbs and into the city. A sudden pain shot through her shoulder, blood seeping out of the wound. "Ow…" Duo looked to see what happened, and saw that she had been shot. "Hold in there, Kaida." Her vision started to blur, as a few more sears of pain ran through her legs and back. The world started to tip. "Kaida…" You faintly see your new friend… then darkness……._

She bolted upright on her mattress, her heavy breathing slowing to even breaths. _Why am I remembering this now?_ She drew back the curtain separating her quarters from the rooms of her gang members. Tiredly, she swept the dark brown shoulder-length hair from her face and looked over at the small safe on the other side of the room. _An addition will be made to that tomorrow… now I need sleep…_ she sleepily laid back down and drew the blanket over her tan skin, thinking about her future prize. _The Coal Pearls… you will be mine…_

The noon sun shone down upon Kaida, the autumn breeze blowing through her hair, all while mingling it with the red bandana she always wore. As she passed through the crowd, a few people glanced at her jacket, murmuring things like, "She's with them!" and "Don't mess with her!" Upon hearing this, she smiled. The teen had no idea her gang had such a reputation around this part of town. Her tan jacket, bearing the badge of the Pyronics Gang over her heart and her own personal symbol on her back, marked her as an important member. They had no idea how important.

She finally stopped in front of a store, the sign _Glass Heart Jewelers_ swinging above the entrance. "Stop numaro one," Kaida said to herself, looking up at the clock tower to her left. 12:30. Perfect timing. She calmly walked into the store, glancing around in the show boxes casually, already knowing the item in question would not be in them. It would be in the back. A man in a suit came up to her, black hair gelled back and brown eyes flashing beneath his glasses. "Excuse me, but I do not believe that the likes of you," he said, looking at her jacket, "should be here. Please leave immediately or I will be forced to call the police." The girl turned around and smirked. She knew this kind of person. He'd let her stay if she offered enough money for an item. "Oh," she said, still smirking, pulling out a (empty) wallet. "But you don't understand. I can pay." The man looked at her stuffed wallet (A/N: which, by the way, was filled with paper) and plastered a smile on his face. "How may I be of service to you, madam?" She looked thoughtful, a frown replacing the space once filled with a smile. "All these items out here… they aren't exactly what I've been looking for… do you have anything else?" "I'm sorry ma'am. The back rooms are reserved for VIPs only…" "I guess I will have to take my business elsewhere, then. Ta ta!" she said, putting the wallet by inside her jacket, striding towards the door. The suited man frowned; the thought of loosing such a rich customer would not to great in the mind of the manager. "Excuse me, miss? I just remembered… we are allowed to share a portion of the back stores with the public…" Inwardly she smiled, but the look of concern on her face bore into the sales man's. "Are you sure your…_ insignificant_… jewelry will fit may needs?" "Oh I'm sure, madam. Right this way!" he led her into the back rooms of the shop, stopping in front of a huge safe. After typing in a code to the lock, the words _Access Approved_ popped up on the screen. The vault opened up, revealing millions of dollars worth of necklaces and other accessories. Diamonds, rubies and emeralds met her eyes, none meeting her standards. "Do you have any pearls?" at this question, the man looked confused. "Pearls?" "Yes, pearls you baka. Got any?" "Um, yes… right this way…" he led Kaida to the back of the vault, where sea water and fresh water pearls alike waited for her verdict. She looked carefully inside each of the show cases, finally pausing in front of a black pearl necklace. "What is this?" "That, ma'am, is the necklace of the famous Coal Pearls. Uncultured, salt water black pearls, each a perfect sphere. The black is unusual for the ocean they were harvested in, thus the name." "Hm. Can you take them out, please? I think I have found something to fit my needs." The excited clerk eagerly took the necklace out of its locked case, gently displaying it on the top of the glass box or his "rich" customer. "Yes. It will do," she said, snatching the necklace and dashing from the vault. The stunned sales man recovered from his shock a few seconds later, pulling an alarm that was on the inside of the safe. A siren sounded; all entrances were in the process of being locked down. The thief made it out the side door moments before the steel grating sealed it off from the outside world. She took off immediately, sprinting down the crowded streets. Already she could hear the guards behind you, yelling phrases like "Freeze!" _When will they ever learn that I, of all people, can't freeze?_ She thought to herself as she passed by a group of guys, where she suddenly stopped. Turning to the one with a watch, she asked, "Yo, what's the time?" the blonde, looking at her funny, glanced down at his watch. "12:56," came his reply. She gave him a wink and started running again. "Thanks!" she yelled over her shoulder and continued on her way down the road towards the intersection where she had to meet Keahi.

Duo stretched. He hadn't been to this part of L2 in a long time; the part of L2 he grew up in. "Didn't I tell you guys? Isn't it great here?" "It's just like any other colony we've been to. I don't see why we had to vacation _here_," Wufei said with a frown. The braided pilot tugged the Chinese boy's short ponytail, grinning his fully patented Duo-grin. "Aw, come on, Wu-man! Don't you just LOVE this clean air?" "Duo, the newspaper stated that one of the air filters exploded, taking another two with it," Quarte said, holding up a copy. Duo scratched his head. "Oh. Well at least we get to see the circus! Right, Trowa?" the green eyed boy shook his head, wondering how the hell they ever got Duo to get them into these messes.

Suddenly, a brunette about their age ran around the corner, then spotted them and came over. "Yo, what's the time?" a bewildered blonde looked down at his watch. "12:56." The girl winked at him and sped off, shouting her thanks over her shoulder. Duo looked to the confused Quarte. "What was that all about?" "Guess she was late for an appointment," came the blonde's unsure reply. Trowa shrugged. "Who cares? Come on, let's go…" "Hey! Where'd she go?" came the bewildered shouts of the guards, just now reaching the point. One turned to the pilots, a frown on his face. "Did any of you see a brunette with a Pyronics jacket and a red bandana pass by here?" Wufei snorted. "How well are you guys doing your job?" the guard rolled his eyes, apparently used to such comments. "Give us a break. Just tell us where the girl went!" Wufei started to say something, but Duo cut him off. "Nope. No girl's been past here!" The guard narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure?" A shrill whistle from down the road caused the guard and Duo to look in that direction. The girl they were inquiring about stood there, casually leaning on the rail, a smile across her features. "Getting so slow ya have to ask people? Huh, thought you were made of tougher stuff than that!" The mob of guards' eyes grew wide, the lead one pointed at her, shouting, "Get her! Get the wench!" The girl's eyes suddenly changed from an ice blue to a dark crimson, a frown replacing the grin. "The name's Kaida, and I don't appreciate you criticizing my work!" she reached into her jacket and pulled out a sting of black pearls. "Looking for this, officer?" "GET HER!" the officer roared, his patience on end. She tucked the necklace back into her jacket and sprinted away laughing. "YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO CATCH ME, SUCKA!" All the guards ran after her, pulling out guns from their holsters. Once they were gone, Quarte turned back to Duo. "Why did you lie?" Duo smiled. "That's just what you do here. Some people steal because they need to. Not just because they want to." Heero started walking in the direction that the thief and the guards went. "Come on, we don't want to miss the show."

The guards followed Kaida to the intersection, where she looked up the street, only to find Keahi running towards her with guards on her tail as well. The blonde ran past her friend. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!" she yelled. One look at the brunette's eyes and she understood. "Oh damn it all to hell. They did it again, didn't they?" "Ya, and they're not getting away with it this time." She thrust her prize in her friend's direction. "Get this back to hq! Now!" she said, cracking her knuckles and glaring at the upcoming guards. "I need to heat up this chase." As Keahi slipped away, the guards joined up and started to shoot. In the midst of the gunfire, she crossed her arms across her chest and closed her eyes, focusing on what she needed to do. A bullet hit her shoulder, but it was just a dull beesting compared to the rude awakening the guards were about to get. Kaida's eyes shot open, at the same time stretching out both hands. From her outstretched palms, flames shot toward the unsuspecting guards.

Duo's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. How the hell did she do that! Wufei was gaping at the sight of the burnt guards, some struggling to their feet, others down for good. "A GIRL did that? Impossible!" Trowa and Heero watched as the girl noticed the shot wound, shrugged it off, and ran the way her friend went. Suddenly, she stopped and glanced at the rooftop the boys were standing on. Her eyes met Duo's… and became light blue again. Her mouth dropped and she held up two fingers, shaking her head with confusion. Finally, she retreated back into the alleyways and disappeared into the shadows. _Kaida… why does that name sound so familiar?_ the braided baka wondered. Then the name clicked. _O damn! Kaida! Could that really be her?_

**A/N: Oi! Just wanted to say: YIPEE! Sorry. This is my first fic and I'm excited! So please review (comments, flames, and suggestions are welcome!) I might just give you a cookie wink I got chocolate chip and peanut butter. À bientôt! …GAH! NOW FRENCH IS STUCK IN MY HEAD! At least its not as bad as having the Dora the Explorer theme song stuck… that's torture… o.O**


	2. Memories and a Feista

**Don't Mess with Fire**

**Part 2**

Kaida ran through the alleyways, setting course towards the pier. _Could that really have been Duo? Or is my mind just tricking me again, like when I thought I saw a monkey eating a sundae on top of the couch, when it was really just Heba eating a mango? GAH! I need a vacation…_ she thought, shaking her head. The brunette walked towards the empty warehouses, all while trying to staunch her bleeding shoulder. _Woah… I'm feeling light headed. Either I've lost a lot of blood or the colony had a total increase in oxygen…_ she made it through to doors before she fell to her knees. _Damn… I guess it's the blood then…_ she moved a manhole cover and lowered herself down the stairs, replacing the cover before she continued down. She dropped the last few feet, knowing right away it was a bad idea. The thief's knees locked, sending her crashing to the floor of the drained sewer. "Shit…" Kaida looked over at a rope that ran along the wall, disappearing into the darkness around the curve of the pipe. Summing up the last of her power, she ignited the end of the rope, her final S.O.S. and hope for survival. The rope burned quickly, traveling along the rope until she could no longer see it.

A few moments later her ears were greeted with the sound of feet stumbling over pebbles. Keahi and a black haired boy rounded the curve, gauze padding and tape in hand. The blonde shook her head at the sight of her friend crumpled up on the ground. "Dammit Kaida why does this _always_ happen without me? IT'S NOT FAIR! I bet you also kicked the shit out of those policemen up there too. But do I get the chance to? NO!" Kaida grinned up at her friend. "Shut up and fire me up before I die. O and thanks, Zach." The boy smirked. "No prob." He had gently bandaged up her shoulder, stopping the bleeding. "Now, Keahi, heat me up before I become rat food." "Hmm I don't know… with you gone, I would become leader of the Pyronics…" "Come off it! I'm your best friend now save me before I die, dammit!" Keahi just laughed and took her hand. Fire shot from one person to another, and Kaida looked better almost instantly. "Thanks. I'm full now." The blonde let go and helped her friend up. "See, Zach! I _told_ you that distress rope was a good idea!" "That was my idea." "No it wasn't. You just want to take all my credit for the hard work! Hey, what are you rolling your eyes at me for?" The brunette laughed inwardly at her two friends' bickering. It was gonna be a long night back at hq.

"Wow. This hotel room's not so bad!" Quatre looked around the suite, which included a kitchen, bathroom, living room area, bedroom, and balcony. Heero walked past him into the room. "It shouldn't be. You're the one paying for it." Duo flopped down on the couch. "Yep. Q's got us covered." Wufei emerged from the bedroom. "There's only three beds," the Chinese boy said. Quatre rubbed the back of his head. "Well, the sofa is a fold-out bed. That means someone has to share." Duo walked over to the mini fridge and pulled out a soda. When he looked up, he saw Wufei sprawled across the couch, and in the bedroom Heero, Trowa and Quatre had claimed beds. "So who's sharing with the braided baka?" Wufei asked, more as a dare than a question. The four pilots started playing rocks-paper-scissors to see who would have to withstand sleeping in the same bed as the nutty God of Death. Duo sighed and grabbed an extra pillow and blanket. "Never mind, Wuffers. I'll sleep outside." "Hey! It's WuFEI!" "Sorry Wu-man but I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken." "Dammit you braided baka! You're even worse then an onna!" "Why thank you, darling, right back at ya." "DUO! I've had it up to here with your mocking ways!" "Aw, to bad. I've just begun." And with that, Shinigami proudly strode unto the balcony and laid down.

"Don't you think Duo's been a little… _quiet_… lately?" Quatre whispered to Trowa as Wufei angrily shut the balcony door. "If you mean since the whole fire thing this afternoon? Yeah, I guess so," the clown answered. The blonde looked down. "When it happened, he seemed… to recognize something. Or remember." Trowa shrugged and kicked off his shoes.

_That really seemed like Kaida… with the changing eye color and attitude. But that fire… what happened after she was taken away? I mean, if that was her… damn this is hurting my head to much. But she held up two fingers… what's that supposed to mean? Hmm. Two people equal a pair, and a pair equals a… pear? No now why would she be trying to tell me about a vegetable? Wait, is it a fruit? My brain hurts. Hmmm. No… a pair equals… a duo. She recognized me. So that really was Kaida… wow she's changed… _ Duo thought. _I'll think about it tomorrow. At least we get to sleep in…_ and the braided pilot fell asleep.

_Kaida was part of the family. She, Duo and Solo did everything together. Heists, chases, jokes… then IT happened. Kaida had just turned six, and decided to steal something to celebrate. She and her long-haired friend window-shopped for hours, until they came upon the item: a jacket. It was beige, and had a high collar. The pockets on the higher part of the arm would be useful for storing things, and the price stated its high quality. "That's it." "Um are you sure, K? I mean, this store is really high security and all…" "Stop being a wimp, Duo. We can do it. I mean, come on, how hard can it be?" They walked in. Fortunately, the owner didn't yell for them to leave. The kids "browsed" through the store, wearing pictures of wish and whimsy on their faces the whole time. Then they snatched it. Shouts of "Stop!" and "What do you think you're doing!" filled the air as they stumbled into the street and split up. Duo took the jacket, being the more experienced of the two. "Don't get caught!" Kaida yelled her parting words to her friend. Her friend smirked. "Why would I?" guards sped after them, yelling "Freeze!" like in those cop movies. It took a few moments for Kaida to notice the few guards that ran after her gave up, and she ran down an alleyway to get to where she and Duo would meet up. The first thing that met her eyes was something she could never forget. A guard stood there, gun raised inches from her friend's head. If he shot, he wouldn't miss. The guard still hadn't noticed her yet. Kaida didn't tell her body to move… but it did. Towards the unsuspecting guard… who she kicked in the balls. "OW! DAMMIT YOU LITTLE BRAT!" she took off the other way. She looked behind her to see Duo's worried expression. "Don't worry! Tell Solo I'll be back tonight!" she yelled. But she knew she wouldn't. And as long as he escaped… she was glad. "You had better be!" shouted Duo, who had already begun to run. Kaida turned the corner, just to run into two more guards. "Say goodnight, girly," one sneered, hitting her over the head with the butt of the gun. The six year old passed out at the hands of three grown men. The pathetic thing is it took all that time just to catch her, not noticing the other one got away._

"Duo… Duo, wake up…" "Just five more minutes…" the self proclaimed God of Death pleaded. "Come on Duo, it's already 12 o'clock!" "Look at it, the idiot drools in his sleep." "Aw, shut up Heero," Duo opened his eyes to see his two friends attempting to drag him inside. Quatre gave up. "Fine if you want to get rained on, that's _your_ choice. I'm going to get some coffee." "COFFEE!" Duo leapt to his feet, wide awake. "WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO! COME ON, Q! I'M READY FOR CAFFEINE!" Trowa groaned, sipping his own cup of tea. "Doesn't he already have caffeine?" Wufei poured himself a cup and shrugged. "Seems that way to me."

"Hey Q." "Yes?" Quatre looked up from a painting he had been inspecting. "Um, wait a sec… never mind. I forgot." Duo kept on walking through the streets of the colony, not quite sure if he was looking for something, or WHAT he was looking for. His mind was just away from his work. The Shinigami and Quatre had been sent by Wufei to find a Chinese restaurant for that night. Big surprise. "Uh, Duo, that's the fifth one we've passed in the last hour." "Huh?" The blonde just shook his head. His braided friend had something on his mind, and he intended to sneak it out of him by any means possible.

The previous night had been horrendous. The entire gang had been awake until 3, drinking Dr. Pepper and partying over the victorious heist. They even persuaded Kaida into fire illusions and Keahi into acrobatics. After everyone had stopped dancing around, it was, as Zach said, "The only kind of quiet that happens before Heba starts snoring." Heba however, instantly began to berate the elder teen with shouts of "I DO NOT! THAT'S DANIEL!" and throttling him until a certain blonde held up a recorder with snores emitting from the speakers. Kaida, exhausted and confused, slipped quietly into her "room" and fell asleep instantly, without a second thought of what had happened that afternoon.

Now, as Kaida wondered the streets, she contemplated the odd sighting yesterday. It had never occurred to her that Duo would return back home, or if he even did, if he would run into her. She had known he was a gundam pilot ever since he had been captured by OZ the year and a half before, and shown on the huge screen in the colony's square. But was that really him that she bumped into in her getaway? And again on the roof? And why did she just now have a sudden urge for caffeine? She felt as if she might never know.

**A/N: hey peoples! Me again. I just wanted to ask y'guys to review. I didn't get any the first time around, but I'm confident I'll get some flames or somethin in round two! Thanks! Now Saruwatari! Come to me! (Giant flaming wolf appears from nowhere, and disappears into the sky with DML on its back) (DML turns back around to reader) REMEMBER TO REVIEW! **


	3. Egg Rolls and Shadows

**I forgot to put this in the others sooooo…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, I would be fat and rich and bathing in 100 dollar bills, and I would be writing for mangas instead of posting these.**

**Ok, reviewer thanking time!**

**Natalie- thanx! I'll try to make Trowa less OOCish. I'll post as soon as I can!**

**PiNkNoOdLeS- I'm glad I have my own personal pep squad cheerin' for me! Im mad schools starting tho**

**gundam gurl- wow 2 reviews from you! Thanx! I'll try to work on separating them. I just kinda forget sometimes (sweatdrops) heh heh! I'm glad you like her character, and as a reward for reviewing TWICE I'll give you a cookie! Now would you like peanut butter, chocolate chip, or a snickerdoodle? o.O**

**/ the beautiful one- yet again, 2 reviews! Have some cookies! For question 1: because it's a flashback. Question 2: I meant Daniel. No Danielle in this story. **

**I DEDICATE THIS CHAPPY TO ALL MY REVIEWERS! THANK YOU!**

**Now ON WITH THE FIC! **

**Don't Mess with Fire**

**Part 3**

The Gundam boys sat inside Panda Café, a Chinese restaurant close to their hotel. Wufei, the one who had wanted the food of his homeland, hungrily dug into his sweet and sour chicken. Trowa quietly ate his dumplings, while Heero and Quatre had split the stir-fried tofu with mushrooms. Duo absently poked at his tigercried **(1)**, the whole Kaida situation weighing heavily on his mind. Quatre had been carefully studying his friend's strange behavior, and was now confident of his conclusion.

"Hey braid-boy. You gonna eat that?" Wufei asked, pointing his chopsticks at the tigercried. His mouth, however, was full of food, so it sounded more like, "Hay bread-boii, youff gonna eet thad?" Duo passed to plate to the eager Chinese boy.

"Knock yourself out, Wu."

Quatre was sincerely worried about his friend. Usually he would dive head-first into a plate of food, sometimes forgetting to let the waitress put it down first. Now he barely picked at his food and Wufei was quickly passing him up on the eating scale.

"Sorry, guys, I'm just not hungry," Duo said standing up. "I'm kinda tired. I'm going for a walk and then back to the hotel. But first," he said waving to a waitress, "I'm gonna box up these egg rolls." A moment later he walked out, Styrofoam box in hand, leaving his bewildered friends behind.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML **

Duo walked towards the poorer side of the colony, stealthily walking through the hall-like alleyways. He passed a huddled form, shaking underneath a blanket. Closer inspection revealed two dirty faces, dull eyes watching the by passer hopefully. The braided pilot stopped and crouched down in front of the two kids.

"Here ya go," he said setting the box next to the two children. One, a little girl, stood up and gave him a dirty little kiss on the cheek, smiling the first smile she has in probably weeks. Duo returned the grin, ruffling the other's, a little boy's, hair. "Don't give up guys. Things'll look up soon." And with that, he left the to children to their dinner.

The boy opened the box, eyes widening to show the whites. There, lying next to the egg rolls was a 50 dollar bill. The girl sat next to her brother, who put an arm around her. She smiled up at him. "See? Not everyone is mean." Her brother just hugged her tighter, not wanting her to see the tear that rolled down his cheek.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML **

Duo trudged on, a voice still ringing in his ears from 11 years ago. _"Don't worry! Tell Solo I'll be back tonight!"_… she never came back. _He waited at the head of the alleyway they lived in, waiting for her return. Solo put a hand on his shoulder. "Duo, she ain't comin' back." The longhaired boy swatted off his friend's hand, "She will, too." "Duo-" Duo rounded on his friend angrily. "She said she'd come back! So she will! She promised!" Solo shook his head._ I'll let the kid hope, _he thought looking over his shoulder at the brunette who had turned his back and sat down, still eagerly awaiting his friend's return. _We can only hope she's still alive._ He sat down and laid his head against the wall. Faintly, before he drifted to sleep, he heard a small voice from the head of the alleyway. "She'll come back. I know she will."_ She never came back. After that, there disease struck and Solo and the others died. Duo stopped in front of an alleyway, between a boarded-up building and a run down _Pizza Master_. He could almost see the small longhaired boy sitting there; hope burning in his eyes, while everyone behind him was sleeping. The braided pilot blinked; the vision disappeared.

"What are you doing here?"

Duo spun around, ready to fight if needed. A girl his age, 17, stood there, blue eyes shining under brown hair and red bandana. The rest of her facial features were cloaked in shadows. He eased up some. "I'm a walkin' down memory lane."

She raised an eyebrow. "You've been here?"

Duo laughed. "I lived here, babe. Good times, bad times." His face darkened. "But mostly bad." His eyes brightened again. "Anyway, gotta go. See ya." As he turned, the girl caught sight of his braid.

_Pretty long hair… for a guy that is…_ something suddenly clicked. _A few months after Kaida joined Duo and Solo, Duo caught her staring at his long hair. "You've got pretty long hair… for a guy at least. Why do you keep it long?" she asked. Duo grinned. "I'm a street rat, so if I ever get memory loss I'll look at it and remember what I am. It helps me remember my roots. Plus," he said, giving her a wink, "it's just… me."_

"Hey. You. Why do you keep your hair so long?" she asked. Duo continued to walk on.

"It helps me remember my roots. And it's me." He turned and winked at her. "Don't ya think?"

She stepped out of the shadows, taking her hands out of the pockets of her Pyronics jacket. "Duo?"

"Yup?" he responded automatically. He turned and saw for the first time that night her face.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML **

Heero, Trowa, Quatre and Wufei arrived back at the hotel room to find it devoid of anything to tell that Duo was there. Wufei fell back onto the couch with a groan.

"Has Duo even come back yet?" Quatre asked worriedly.

"Doesn't seem that way." Trowa responded, taking a Sprite from the mini-fridge. Suddenly Heero voiced what they had all been thinking.

"He knows that girl."

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML **

Keahi walked into Helen en route to the sleeping quarters. "Hey Helen. You seen Kaida?" Helen chuckled.

In her British accent, "No one's seen the Dragon since she went out to walk and hour ago. She said she was gonna lift a frappicino or something. She had the urge for caffeine. Oh and by the way," she said, whipping some water from the ground and forming it into a finger. She plunged it into Keahi's ear yelling, "WET WILLY!" and ran off.

Keahi shook the water out of her ear, muttering, "Water manipulators. Sheesh." Zach walked by, light grey eyes gleaming. "Hey Zach."

"Hey. If you're looking of Kaida, she just came in with some guy," he said. "Oh, and she wanted me to give you something." He gave her a noogie while yelling, "BRAIN FREEZE!" and ran off laughing.

Keahi shot fire after him, a puny shot at revenge for the horrible headache she now had. She stalked off towards the sleeping quarters, muttering, "Ice manipulators. Sheesh."

**A/N: hey! Sorry for the short chappy! Yet again, thank you all for reviewing! If you hadn't noticed yet, I don't exactly have a schedule when it comes to updates. So if I up date 3 times in one week and none in another, sorry. Stuff just pops into my head. I like listening to Linkin Park and Bon Jovi when I'm writing. For some reason, I write to the rhythm almost. Kinda freaky. Anyway, Saruwatari is sick, so I'm riding my friend's camel. Come on**, **Weisei. Yip, yip! (turns to readers) review please! I just made some pudding! See ya whenever! **


	4. 20 Questions and Spit

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. Don't sue me. If you did, you'd only get 5 cents. So there's no point to it anyway.**

**gundam gurl- MY FAITHFUL REVIEWER! I THANK THEE! Oh, and here's your snickerdoodle (tosses cookie to you) you're reviewin on every chapter! I'm so happy! Thank you! I know, the world is coming to the end! Don't worry, Duo'll get his appetite back soon. **

**serina lijtvorg- thank you, I will!**

**hllabckgrl- yes, I listen to Bon Jovi. Thanks!**

**I DEDICATE THIS TO MY REVIEWERS! AND ALSO MY EDITOR, NEKO! THANK YOU!**

**And on with the fic! **

**Don't Mess with Fire**

**Part 4**

Keahi walked into the sleeping quarters moments after her encounter with Zach, her head still throbbing horribly. _I'm gonna burn down his room separator curtain-thing._ She pushed through the crowd that surrounded Kaida and the outsider she had brought in. "Yo, Kaida, who's that?"

Kaida looked up, a light in her eyes that Keahi had seen few times before. The newcomer turned around, braid swinging, cobalt eyes glistening. "Hey."

"This," the brunette said proudly, waving to the guy, "is Duo."

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"Where'd that braided idiot go?" Heero murmured to himself. A wave from the corner of his eye caught his attention. It was Trowa, motioning from the mouth of an alleyway.

Heero walked towards him, but his clown friend stopped him. "Slowly," was all he said. The Perfect Soldier nodded his understanding, and followed Trowa between the buildings. They approached Quatre, who was on his knees in front of two children.

"Have they seen him?"

The little girl answered him. "Yep. He brought us food and-" her brother cut her off.

"Why do you need to know?" he asked defensively, glaring up at the serious pilot.

Quatre smiled. "Like I've said before, he is a good friend of ours. He told us he would meet us at the hotel but he never did. We're worried," he said frankly.

The boy pointed. "He went left after he left the alley. We heard he met up with a Pyronic by the pizza place."

Quatre ruffled the boy's hair, letting something drop into his lap. "Let's get going," Trowa said, already walking away. "Thanks for your help."

As they left the passageway, the boy cried out, "I hope you find him! Thanks for the money!" The Arabian, the only one to hear him, waved his good bye. The girl waved back, blanket tightly clutched to her chest.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Kaida pulled the curtains around her sleeping area closed after finally convincing twenty gang members that if they didn't leave after a count to ten, they would be barbequed then and there. It was a mad dash to the pipes, like hunting hounds after a rabbit almost. She turned back to Duo, Keahi, and Zach, whom Keahi was setting on fire every two seconds before he froze the flames.

"Ok, Keahi, stop trying to light Zach's shirt like a bomb fuse and listen to me. As my second in command and advisor, I wanted you two to know my… no, our past first. You can also help me fill Duo in on this whole power thing." The fire and ice elementalists nodded their heads. It was going to be a long night.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Helen sat next to Heba and Saki, a fair distance away from the sleeping area yet still closer than the rest of the mob. As council members, they would be alerted first if something were to happen.

Heba, dark, tall, and calm, had black hair and eyes. Saki, red haired and energetic, was… electric. Blonde, blue eyed, British Helen was relaxed most of the time, but when stirred up, she was a monster.

Let's face it. They were bored. Kaida, Keahi, Zach, and that Duo person had been in there for half an hour. They had already played four rounds of poker, two games of Go Fish, and Fifty Card Pick-up twice. After hangman in the dirt three times, Saki's patience, something she was _not_ known for, ran out.

"I AM SICK AND TIRED OF WAITING FOR THE STUPID MEETING TO BE OVER! I'M TAKING A WALK!" and with that, she pushed through the other members, heading towards one of the many exists.

"Well, I guess she'll miss out on our game of Duck, Duck, Goose," stated Heba flatly. She didn't see Helen sweatdrop and shake her head.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

The red haired menace walked the streets of the colony, only the badge on the sleeve of her shirt telling the world as her gang member ranking. Only the leader, second in command, and advisor got the jackets. Not very many people were out on the street this late. A group of guys around her age approached her, two of which looked serious, the other looking rather cheerful or optimistic; which one she could not tell.

The confusing boy spoke first. "Excuse me," he said with a kind look in his eyes, "we were looking for a friend of ours, and we were wondering if you've seen him."

"What's he look like?"

"Brown hair, blue eyes, you'd probably hear him before you see him, I mean he talks faster than the speed of light," the blonde stated.

"American, loud, his name is Duo Maxwell," one of the serious boys said. He had green eyes, or eye because Saki couldn't see the other one; his hair was covering it.

Saki cut in. "Wait a sec. Does he have a three foot long braid, calls himself the God of Death, and flirt with every girl he sees?"

"So you've seen him." The cold voice caused her to turn to the other brunette. His hard Prussian eyes bore into her brown ones. "Can you lead us to him?"

The red head hesitated. Who were these hot guys and why were they asking so many questions? "No… yeah… I don't know. I have to ask the Dragon. Just wait here," she said, before running off.

Quatre made a face. "She's not coming back, is she?"

Trowa leaned up against a building. "We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Saki ran headlong through the mob of people. Finally arriving at Helen and Heba, she stopped. "I need to (pant) talk to (pant) Kaida. It's about (pant) that guy that she's with."

Heba raised an eyebrow. "You mean Duo? The four had a break a minute ago; you should have been here then. He plays a mean game of Spit **(1)**."

The redhead's temper rose. She didn't have time for this. "Let me through."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Heba, let Saki through, dammit!" came the yell from the curtained area. Saki stuck her tongue out at Heba, who just rolled her eyes and let her friend past.

"Kaida, I ran into some guys on the street. They're looking of Duo."

Duo stood up. "Is one cold and stoic, have blue eyes, and make you want to cower in fear?"

"Yeah."

"And another so polite and sweet it makes you wanna throw up that has blonde hair?"

"Yeah."

"And another quiet and you can only see one of his eyes?"

"Yeah."

"And a Chinese dude that looks like he wants to kill you?"

"…nooo."

"OK it's just the guys. They must have left Wu-man back at the hotel, stuffed with Chinese food… HOLY SHIT THE HOTEL," Duo leapt up and started running towards the pipes. "I WAS SUPPOSED TO MEET THEM BACK AT THE HOTEL, NOT HAVE A CONFERENCE WITH MY LONG-LOST FRIEND! DAMMIT ALL TO HELL!"

Kaida ran after him. "Duo! Wait up!"

Duo kept on running. "If you don't wanna look down the barrel of Heero's gun, don't come! I can face his wrath on my own!" _Woe is me! Everyone will miss me! O well, the God of death isn't THAT easy to get rid of! Now, I must start to write up my Will. I'll give my alarm clock to Hilde, and my black trench coat to Trowa… hmm what does Quatre NOT have? I'll give him my silly putty._

Suddenly, something grabbed hold of his jacket, gently but firmly, begging him to stop. The braided pilot looked up, noticing they were out of the throng of gang members. Latched onto his jacket, to his surprise, was a dragon. Only about the size of a cat, the dragon was black, with red and orange streaks running down its flanks and wings. But what made him stop was not the fact that a dragon was clutching his jacket, but that its eyes were ice blue. Exactly like Kaida's.

When he stopped the dragon gave a small squawk, and proceeded to jump from his shoulder to his braid, riding it as it swung back and forth. It issued a shriek when it saw Kaida and Keahi running towards them, clinging to the braid tighter like a child that didn't ant to give up its favorite toy.

The two girls caught up with Duo and stopped, panting. "Damn you run fast." Was Keahi's only comment. Kaida attempted to detach the dragon from Duo's braid to no avail.

"Come on, Hasaki. Let go of his hair!" the dragon squawked its refusal and hung on for dear life. She finally gave up. "Duo, kindly take my dragon off your braid." She said with a smile.

Duo put his hand down by the creature, allowing it to jump onto it. "I should be either freaked or confused, but this is so awesome." He turned to Kaida. "I'll be back tomorrow, babe. And you can just chill," he said, patting Keahi on the head. She swatted him away, scowling.

"Later babes!" Duo yelled running off.

Keahi turned to Kaida. "Are you seriously gonna let him go, when he knows the location of the hideout?" she asked, tugging on the small black hoop earring in her right ear.

Kaida just smiled. "He's not gonna tell."

"What can make you so sure?"

"… he's Duo."

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Keahi walked back towards not the sleeping area, but the headquarters, passing by various Pyronics on the way. Saki came up and walked next to her. "Hey. Did that guy leave?"

"Yeah. That is so weird that you ran into his friends on the street."

"Do you know what's even WEIRDer?" the redhead asked mischievously.

"What?"

Saki tapped her friend on the head, making her hair puff up into an afro. "Your hair!" She started laughing, but began to run away due to the fact the Keahi was about to blow like Krakatau.

"ATTA! BAKA!" the second in command yelled, sending a pillar of fire towards her now frightened friend.

"OW! HOTHOTHOTHOT!" Saki screamed, trying to put out the fire that was eating away at her pants. Keahi blew on her finger like it was a gun and grinned as she heard a "splash", telling her Helen had arrived on the scene.

"Touché, my friend, touché."

**A/N: hey I hope you liked it! I wrote a longer chappy for y'guys. (winks) you are all great! I know it's very confusing… but I'll explain EVERYTHING in the next chapter. So just bear with me here. Tomorrow school starts. Dammit all**

**(1)- Spit is a two player card game. To learn how to play, review asking me for more details! P.S. I'm the master of Spit. Or Mistress o.O**


	5. Duct Tape and a Beat Down

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. If I did, I would own a private island, home theater, and trained wolves to come at my command. But I don't. I own a computer and a pair of socks. **

**ALL MY LOYAL REVIEWERS! I WOULDN'T BE ALIVE WITHOUT YOU! Well, I would, but my life would be extremely boring…**

**Saki- yes she is cool. Thanks for reviewing.**

**serina lijtvorg- hey! It's good to here from you again! I know how you feel… I could just do a Mexican Hat Dance around him! Thanks. It's hard to keep from day dreaming during school! Usually I think about the next chapter I'm writing, so ya. Thanks for reviewing!**

**AngerManagment- Dani, you are insane. Really. But ARIGATOU! YOU FINALLY REVIEWED!**

**ATTENTION- LOOKING FOR LOST REVIEWER. NAME: GUNDAM GURL. COME BACK! WE MISS YOU! **

**Sorry guys, it's kinda hard to explain Spit, so I asked my sister, and unfortunately, she was in a pissy mood and was like "Do it yourself!" so I'm gonna see if she's in a better mood by next chapter. Gomen!**

**And on with the story!**

**Don't Mess with Fire**

**Part 5**

"Hey guys,"

"Duo! Where in the world have you been?" asked Quatre, sounding an awful lot like someone's mom. "We were worried sick!"

"Oh, really?" asked Duo, looking past the hysterical blonde. "They don't seem too worried to me." Quatre turned around and saw Trowa and Heero playing a game of portable checkers.

"King me," Trowa said boredly. He propped his head up with a fist, while idly scratching his cheek.

Quatre just glared at his "worried" friends. "You guys will never make it to heaven, you know that?" he turned back to an unfazed Shinigami. "Yet again, where were you?"

"You know, off messin' with some friends, pickin' up loose ends, that kinda shit," he stated casually, putting his hands behind his head. Heero raised an eyebrow but let it drop.

"I think Wufei's sleapt off his Chinese food hangover," Trowa said, still looking down at the checker pieces. Duo just laughed.

"What, are you kiddin' me? There's no way- ow! Owowowowow!" suddenly, a tug on Duo's braid stopped his sentence and jerked his head back, forcing him to look into venomous black eyes. "Hey, hey! Look who's joined the party! Now, Wuffers, could you possibly let go of the braid?"

Wufei's deadly scowl deepened. "No." He started dragging Duo back to the hotel by his braid.

Duo, who, by this time, was extremely pissed off, tried resisting his fellow pilot, but to no avail. Then he started kicking like a two year old. "You talk about justice and injustice, and this is just what it is! INJUSTICE!" he ranted, trying to pull out of the Chinese boy's grasp. "INJUSTICE!"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

_Meanwhile_

All the Pyronics we under their covers, dreaming of what they have and what they had, what they took advantage of and how they were now humble. Of past lives. Of families. Of memories left behind. Of sunny days and rainy nights, resting in their mother's warm embrace. Of games of hopscotch, and running in the sprinklers. Of war. Of heart-wrenching shrieks. Of final "I love you"s. Of a lab. Of living in the sewers. Of stealing to stay alive. Of joining together. Of creating immortal bonds with their fellow gang members. All the covers were tucked under their chins, warming minds that tried to runaway from sorrow and rage, and cling to love and kindness. What they had. What they have. What they left behind. What was inevitable; life.

All accept one. She sat in the worn out armchair, dragon perched upon her shoulder, forgotten book in lap. Kaida was emotionally, if not physically, drained. Remnants of the afternoon's antics flashed through her head. Hasaki lightly butted his owner's cheek, pulling her out of her reverie. The gang leader stroked his head lovingly.

"I never thought it would turn out this way, ya know? I was just a politician's daughter. A daughter who wanted to grow up to be a detective or somethin from Law and Order or CSI: Las Vegas. Just Kaida Michiyo. Daughter of a lawyer and a politician…" she faded of, her eyes clouded in memories. Tears welled up, threatening to fall, but never did. She had cried enough when she was little for a country to be drowned… she wondered if that is what happened to Atlantis. Ever since the lab, the experimentation, all of it… she hadn't cried a drop. And she planned to keep it that way.

Hasaki noticed her change in moods and flew of to perch at the inlet's entrance, taking up his duty as night guard. Kaida got his message and walked around the sleeping quarters, extinguishing the lights. As she past by the candles and fire lit lamps, the flames leapt off the wicks, folding themselves into a ball of fire in her palm. She reached her curtained area and absorbed the now blinding orb of light. She drew the curtains of her room shut, an image of Duo popping into her head.

"Good night."

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

The morning was sunny, and clear, and full of morning-like noises, and all the pilots were sound asleep… or not. One was missing. In his place, on the balcony, was a slip of paper duct taped to his pillow.

Trowa, who was first up, walked outside, immediately forgetting Duo was "there". He stepped on the blankets and apologized. "Sorry. We have got to rearrange this whole sleeping thing-" he stopped, looking down at where Duo should be, whining for coffee or some other form of caffeine. But no Duo. Just note. The green eyed boy picked up the pillow, because it seemed the braided pilot used enough tape to hold down an elephant.

_Dear Heero, Tro, Q and Wuffers,_

_I'm going to see an old buddy today. I'll be back around 11. pm or am I don't know. Does it matter? Hmm… I supposed it does. Anyway, if you go in the kitchen you'll notice that the coffee and the coffee maker are missing. That's because I took 'em. End of story. If you need some coffee, tell Q to use some of that moolah of his and get you a cappuccino or somethin. Wait a sec, I'm runnin out of room. Please turn over. _

Trowa eyed this part oddly. How the hell was he supposed to rip that sheet off? He'd have to use acid to eat away the binding tape. He attempted to tear to paper off, only managing to rip the entire side of the pillow away, sending fluff everywhere. "Stupid idiot. How does he expect us-" as he idly turned the pillow over, he saw the other half of the note by Duo.

_I bet ya thought I meant the paper, huh? Haha. I wish I was there to see that. That's why I've posted several cameras around the site for my future enjoyment. Anyway, don't let Wufei out of the hotel room without some form of caffeine in his system. Remember what happened in LA? Ya. I feel sorry for those photographers. I heard recently they'll be out of the hospital in another month! I find that so amusing. Later._

_Duo_

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Said mischief maker made his way to the warehouse, to, as the note said, visit an old buddy. Duo removed the sewer lid and dropped down into the hole, immediately surrounded by Pyronics. "Hey, come on guys, cool your jets! It's just me," he said brushing past them. He saw a semi-familiar face approach him. "Hey! Your name is Heba, right?"

She nodded. "Yep, that's me. We've been expecting you. Come on and follow me."

Duo smiled. "Hey, any opportunity to hang out with a chick is fine with me. Ow!" he said and a vine whipped out and snapped at his feet. He glared up at the now smiling girl. "That was just mean."

Heba laughed. "Come on, let's go. Kaida wants you at HQ. We're having a council meeting."

Duo rolled his eyes. "Ooo fun," he said sarcastically. Heba laughed again and lead him to the meeting area.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"Are you sure we should be missing a council meeting?" Helen asked her friend worriedly.

"Hey, don't think of it as skiving, think of it as calling in sick," Keahi replied. She and Helen wandered around, popping in here and there, seeing what's for sale, occasionally buying it with the five-finger discount. Inside their baggy pockets, two necklaces, one bracelet, and three pears were hiding from the world. Keahi had tied her Pyronics jacket around her waist, showing off the design of a flame with the Japanese symbol for fire inside it. Her personal symbol.

"As far as I'm concerned, Kaida won't even notice us missing with that new guy around- umph!" Keahi picked herself off the ground, glaring up at the guy who knocked her down, who, apparently, was wearing the same scowl as she was.

"Watch where you're going, _onna_," the Chinese boy spat venomously.

"Onna? Who you callin' onna, Mr. Ponytail?" replied the indignant Pyronic. She was thoroughly pissed off at the jackass.

"Mr. Ponytail? I didn't know women were so pathetic."

"OH I'LL SHOW YOU PATHETIC, PANDA BOY-" The dark blonde started towards him, only to be restrained by her British friend.

"Keahi, not today…" Helen said, shaking her head. Keahi and Kaida we by far the most violent of anyone in the gang, and usually took their anger out on each other. Or anyone else within the vicinity.

"Hey Wufei, we don't have time for this…" said a blonde behind the Chinese boy.

The black haired ass just turned away, mumbling, "Stupid girl not worth my time anyway."

Keahi's eyes burned with fury, anger dangerously flashing across them. She yanked herself from Helen and kicked out at the retreating figure, catching him in the back. He stumbled slightly, turning around to shout angrily at her.

"An attack from behind! That's dishonorable!"

The blonde threw her jacket to her friend, lowering herself into a fighting stance. "Street fighting knows no honor, just as thieves know no rules."

He smirked. "I see what you're getting at. All right then. Come!"

The rest of the pilots and Helen just watched, shaking their heads. Helen spoke first. "They're pretty evenly matched."

"I don't think so. Wufei's gonna knock her out. Poor girl," Quatre said, shaking his head at the thought of beating up a female.

"I place 2 bucks on Keahi," Helen simply stated.

"I got 3 on Wufei," Heero said.

"I'm betting 10 they both get knocked out cold," said Trowa.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Duo looked at the maps adorning the walls of the chamber. One showed the streets of the colony, another showing all the jewelry and art collectors, and still another showing the food, clothing, and shoemaker stores.

"We pretty much have all the streets and shops memorized, but we put these here just in case," said Heba from behind him.

Duo turned and looked around the room. Square floor pillows were formed in a circle, with one in the middle. Heba had earlier explained that the pillows we for the council members, and the center pillow was for the speaker. She and the pilot sat upon two pillows; she on a green and brown with leaf embroidery, he on an all black visitors pillow.

Eventually, Zach came in, Saki behind him. He sat cross legged on a light blue and light gray with and ice sickle on it. The red head just plopped down unto hers, a yellow and white one with a light bulb, with a sigh. "My fingers hurt."

"That's what you get for trying to win against Alger in a thumb war," replied Zach coolly, receiving a scowl from the girl.

Kaida marched in, looking extremely frustrated, Hasaki on her shoulder. The dragon flew instantly to Duo, obviously afraid of his owner in such a bad mood. "Has anyone seen Keahi or Helen!" everyone in the room, too frightened to speak, quickly shook their heads. "GAH!" suddenly the speaker's pillow went up in flames and crumbled into ashes. (A/N: oh how much I wish for that to happen to my school!)

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Trowa collected the money from his fellow betters, counting the dollars as he sorted though them. "Heero, you still owe me a buck."

Heero glared. "I'm short some cash. Deal with it."

Helen turned to the guys. "If we get them back to our meeting place, they should be fine." The guys nodded.

"But how are we going to wake them up?" Quatre inquired confusingly.

"Like this," the blonde suddenly whipped up two balls of water, dropping it on the unconscious Keahi and Wufei's heads.

They bolted upright glaring at the water manipulator. "WHAT THE HELL?" they yelled simultaneously. Trowa couldn't keep a small smirk from his face.

"Let's get going."

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

They walked through the alley ways towards the warehouse, talking amongst each other. Helen glanced back at her friend, who was in conversation with Trowa. _Looks like she's not gonna chew this guy's head off. He is kinda quiet, though. O well. _

Keahi felt strangely at ease with her new green eyed friend, talking about random things in particular. _Trowa's kinda quiet, but he is sarcastic, and has a little sense of humor… but he's too uptight to let it show. He is kinda cute though… DAMMIT! I DON'T THINK THOSE THOUGHTS! SAKI DOES! I DON'T! He's not cute, he's not cute, he's not cute... _she chanted in her brain while kicking a pebble that accidentally popped up and hit Heero in the back of his head. He whirled around only to find an innocent looking Keahi talking to his fellow pilot, who responded quietly.

As soon as he turned around again, he leaned down some. "Nice goin'. Usually Heero suspects a stranger right away, but good acting," he whispered in the Pyronic's ear. She smirked.

"You gotta be to get anywhere in my career."

They arrived at the warehouse, slipping in and closing the door. They dropped down into the sewer, only to be surrounded like Duo. "Let us through, guys," Helen said. They wouldn't budge.

"Who are these guys?"

Keahi walked straight up to the speaker and looked him straight in the eye, and air of authority surrounding her. "It doesn't matter who they are, _Ember_. You're here to guard the manholes not question your superiors!" she said, using the term for the lowest ranking of Pyronic. The guard cringed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you, ma'am! Go right ahead!"

Keahi turned around smiling at the confused pilots. "Come on, let's get going! The meeting should be out by now, so we can just go to HQ."

As soon as they reached the passageway to the chamber, they heard Kaida ranting inside. "Dammit… she's in a bad mood… Helen, go in there and explain what happened, and then we'll come in if she says. If not," she paused, looking each of the guys in the eyes. "run like hell."

Helen ventured into the room, only to be berated by Kaida's yells. The lead Pyronic marched into the main sewers, glaring at the group. "Who. Are. They."

"The dudes we ran into. Calm down. We just need to bandage them up and then they'll be on their way," Keahi said evenly. Unlike the other gang members, she wasn't afraid when her best friend got this angry.

Kaida looked at them and pointed down the corridor. "Fine. Go in. You and Helen's absence screwed up the meeting anyway." She seemed exhausted. She was like that. Getting frustrated about something, her anger building, then she blows like Krakatau. Unfortunately, it leaves her eerily calm and contemplative afterwards. (A/N: like me after I've meditated… lol Neko-chan)

The small group walked into the headquarters, or what _used_ to be the headquarters. The maps were either burned to a crisp or peeling, the pillows incinerated. Helen whistled. "What happened here I wonder?"

"Kaida the Furious happened here. I haven't seen her eyes that red in a long time," came a muffled reply from a corner of the room, where Zach, Heba, Saki, and Duo were huddled together in a sad attempt to escape their leader's wrath.

"Hey guys! How'd ja make it down here?" asked Duo, cobalt eyes sparkling under slightly singed bangs. "Did you make sure Wufei got his caffeine?" A glare from the Chinese boy settled the question. "Guess not. Oh well. Did ya get my note?"

Trowa pushed past a slightly shocked Keahi and walked over to his friend. "You're sleeping without a pillow tonight."

Duo laughed. "So YOU were to one to fall for it! HAHAHAHA! Even if you DID manage to get the duct tape off, you would have never been able to get off the super glue! I'm so glad I set up cameras."

"Wait waitwaitwaitwait. So they," Keahi pointed to the group of pilots, "are your friends? Wow. Strange coincidence. It feels kinda weird that I beat up one of the Gundam pilots." A new look spread across her features. "Awesome!"

Heero, Quatre, Wufei and Trowa glared at Duo, who rushed into explanation. "Hey, hey! Don't go blamin' me! They guessed on their own!"

Kaida, who was still under the influence of the calm after the storm, nodded. "It's true. I guessed it by myself." Hasaki suddenly flew to her owner's shoulder, visibly glad that her hot temper had cooled.

"Is that a _dragon_?" asked Wufei, his eyes suddenly shining with curiosity. The brunette nodded and sighed.

"I guess we had better explain everything to everyone. Wait, what are your names again?"

Duo sat cross legged on the ground, waving his hand like an eager first grader. "OO! PICK ME!" he stood up pointing at each of the guys at turn. "Wufei Chang, Quatre Winner, Heero Yuy, and Trowa Barton. Meet Kaida, Heba, Saki, Zach, and you've already met Keahi and Helen."

Kaida examined each of them. She pointed to them in order. "China, Rich Boy, Kamikaze, and Pirate. I think I got it." Nearly everyone sweatdropped. "Grab a pillow and sit." Only then did she look around, noticed every pillow in the vicinity was a pile of ashes. "Um never mind. Uh… just sit."

"Now this is how all this shit began…"

**A/N: sorry this was out so late! But I gave you an extra long chappy! GOMEN NASAI! Anyway, please review! I need opinions! Review please!**

**-DML**


	6. Timetravel and Smashing Trees

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. Someone company big-shot does. The only big-shot I make is in Skee-Ball. So don't sue me, you'd only get a bunch of ripped arcade tickets, and maybe some lint…**

**gundam gurl- OMG IT'S SO GOOD TO HEARD FROM YOU AGAIN! (glomps) I'm glad you saw the Wanted poster! Hahaha. Anyway, I believe you deserve these… (dumps truckload of snickerdoodles on gg's lap) have fun reading!**

**CrAzYcHiCk- thanks! I try to get them on-character as possible! Anyway, it's a funny thing you say that your like Saki, because I model her after one of my friends who also reads this fic. When she saw your review she was like "Creepy…" hahaha**

**OK, I know I'm like a week late, and so I gave you a LONG chappy! Happy reading!**

**Don't Mess with Fire **

**Part 6**

_The soldiers dragged the unconscious girl inside a building on the suburbs of the town, walking past men and women dressed in white lab coats, past unmarked doors, through blank hallways, down endless stairs, to hand over the now awakening Kaida to a burly man and a woman in glasses. The woman slapped the small brunette, fully waking her. "HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE- OW!" the woman lowered her hand after the second blow, watching the man struggle to contain the furious six year old. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT, DARNIT! DARN YOU! AND YOU! AND YOU!" the man cuffed her ear, but she paid no heed. _

"_This is quite interesting. It seems you have actually found us a useable test subject," the woman said, pushing her half-moon glasses further up her nose, her shrewd black eyes glistening under the lenses. Her quickly graying brown hair was pulled into a tight knot on the top of her head. "The past few were not… stable… enough for the procedures." She caught Kaida's face roughly, examining it before the girl bit out at her. "Her eyes… how interesting." _

"_Ma'am, what sector will she be confined to?" the man asked, eager to put the struggling juvenile away. _

_The woman straightened, her hawk-like eyes glaring at the assistant. "Sector 7 will do nicely, don't you think?"_

_At that remark the man started, almost losing hold of Kaida. "Sector 7? Pardon ma'am, but isn't that sector a bit… dangerous? Only one of the nine test subjects have survived."_

"_And she's dangerous too! Don't question my decision, you imbecile! Hop to it!" she snapped at the guard. She adjusted her glasses, looking down upon the girl who was now fighting tooth and nail to turn loose. "Janice Hookthorn will not be laughed upon by the Alliance. They wanted me to discover something to keep the rebels in line. And I will."_

_The young brunette snorted. "Yeah right, miss. I bet you get Dopey here to tie your laces for ya." Hookthorn backhanded her, but she paid no attention. "And you slap like a feather. How pathetic." Kaida said in monotone. She had used her anger on something else… like the kick she placed in the man's crotch. _

"_GAH!" he let her go and she sped towards the flight of stairs that would lead to freedom. Behind her, Hookthorn drew a pistol and aimed it at the six year old. However, she didn't shoot a bullet into Kaida. Oh no, she couldn't have her precious test subject harmed. She was injected with a tranquilizer. Just enough to freeze the young girl on the verge of consciousness._

"_Take her to her sector immediately, you idiot. And make sure she does not escape from you this time!"_

"_Yes, boss! Of course, boss!" the man picked up the paralyzed girl and walked down one of the many hallways. _

_**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**_

_The guard opened the door to the large room, idly tossing the prone form inside. "Wench! You got company!" a cat like hiss made him shut the door tightly and lock it, quickly placing the key on his belt loop and scurrying away. Kaida had just gained control of her hands and she began to work the stiffness out of her fingers. A shadow cast itself over her and looked up, irritated. _

"_Who are you?" a girl her age asked, hands on hips, defiant scowl on her face. "Are you another lab rat?"_

_Kaida leapt to her feet and glared at the girl. She had blondish brown hair, and brown, almost black, eyes. "I'm no rat. Rats only care for themselves, and have a tendency to bite at their butt. I'm no rat."_

_The girl now smirked. "I like you. You got guts. I'm Keahi." She said, sticking out her hand. The brunette shook it._

"_Kaida."_

"_Gesundheit." _

"_Why the heck does everyone say that!" she sighed as she slouched against the wall. "Happy birthday to me." _Duo… _Keahi laid a comforting hand on the shoulder of her roommate. _Duo, please be safe.

_**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**_

_A voice loomed through the darkness. "You. Wake up. It's your turn." Kaida sleepily opened her blue eyes. As soon as she did, she wished she hadn't. Keahi, her new friend, was unconscious on the floor next to her, her breaths shallow and irregular. A light trickle of blood flowed from the cut above her eye, giving her a beaten look. _

_The brunette's eyes turned red again as she kicked out at one of the men standing above her. He fell, but before she could make her next attack, a familiar pain froze her body. _No… not again…_ she thought before she fell to the hard floor. Hookthorn stood above her, patting the pistol lovingly. _

_**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**_

_The young girl felt the numbness retreat from her arms and legs. Too bad she couldn't move them, courtesy of the restraints pinning her to the lab table. Only three whitesuits _**(1)**_ were in the room, including the woman Kaida had grown to hate so much in the 15 hours she had been there. Eyes flashing from beneath the half moon glasses, she held a clipboard in her arms. _

"_Let's start her off with a 350 dosage."_

_All the assistants blinked at their boss with confusion. "Ma'am, wouldn't it be wiser to use the standard 100? Even a test subjects 2 and 5 were not even able to withstand that procedure. And test subject 7 have only had up to the 270 dosage."_

"_I'm the one in charge. Give her the 350. She more than capable to withstand the process," Hookthorn said with an eerily calm voice that causes her assistants to cringe in fear. _

"_Yes ma'am."_

_The whitesuits switched on various machinery, connecting cords to the youth's arms, legs, and neck. "Um, hey. What are you-?" She stopped when she felt a sting above her left elbow. A monitor beeped, one of the lines spiking suddenly, then returning to normal. A shudder ran up her arm and down her back, an abrupt pain in her head making the room spin. _What's happening… to me…

_**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**_

"_Hey. Kaida. Kaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiidaaaaaaaaa. Kaida, your mother ship is calling you. ET PHONE HOME!" she awoke to a poking in her ribs, and swatted the offending hand away quickly._

"_What happened?" _

_Keahi chowed down on a loaf of bread. "Yoff wadd testid." _

_The brunette raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"_

_Her friend swallowed and started again. "You were tested." A bell rang, and a door at the back of the room, unnoticed by Kaida before, swung open to reveal a larger room. "HECK YES! FINALLY SOME TIME TO RELAX!" Keahi yelled, running through the door with her arms flung into the air._

_Kaida cautiously peered into the room, to be greeted with a sight that lightened her heart greatly. _

_There were at least 50 different kids, ranging from ages eight to two. All were taken off the streets, all were experimented upon, and all were perfectly content with mingling with other children like themselves. Two boys wrestled, while some girls sat in a corner playing with rag dolls. _

"_HELLO!"_

"_GAH!" yelled Kaida, jumping back with surprise. Three faces stared down at her, grins on their lips. Keahi popped up behind her._

"_These, Kaida, are my friends. Meet Helen," she pointed to a blonde haired blue eyed girl who waved._

"_Hello!" she said in a British accent._

"_and Heba," a Pakistani girl with dark brown hair and eyes._

"_Hi."_

"_and Saki," a red head with brown eyes. She looked like she was about to explode. _

"_HEY! I HEARD IT WAS YOUR BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY! How old are you?"_

_A bit frightened at her outburst, the brunette blinked a couple of times before answering. "…six…" _

"_SO ARE WE! Coooooool." she said. Kaida could tell she was one of the types who you can't walk away from easily. Oh well. There went that plan._

"_I'll tell you what's cool, girls," said a voice behind them. The young girl spun around and looked into light gray eyes peering under tousled black hair. _

_Keahi rolled her eyes. "Go away, Zach. Not today." _

_The boy ignored her, eyes bearing into Kaida's blue ones. "So… what sector are you in?" _

_Keahi stepped between the two of them, glaring at the taller boy. "She doesn't know about the powers yet, Z." _

_As they began arguing, Kaida, confused and frustrated, let out a yell. "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!" she asked, red eyed. Suddenly, one of the rag dolls burst into flames, and the little girls ran away from it, screeching bloody Mary. She calmed again, eyes reverting once more to blue. "And why did the doll just burn up?" _

_Keahi sighed. "Ok. Let me try to explain this." She closed her eyes, trying to come up with an understandable explanation. "I'll just be blunt. You can now shoot fire."_

_The brunette's eyes grew. "You mean I- I did that?" she asked stuttering. The group nodded. "WHAT!" All the dolls blew up this time, and an action figure some kid was playing with melted. _

_Helen shook her head. "Here we go…"_

_Suddenly, a side door opened, and a short man and Hookthorn, as well as two guards, stepped into the room. Younger children had looks of fear on their faces, older shooting glares at their captors. Especially Kaida, who was still fuming. A clipboard that an assistant was holding caught on fire, and he dropped it immediately. Hookthorn looked over at the corner where the little group had gathered. _

_She cleared her throat. "Number 10, sector 7, come with me." _

_Keahi glanced nervously at her new friend. "That's you, K. Careful." _

_Kaida marched toward the scientists. The stubby man looked her over. "So this is your infamous Kaida, hm?"_

"_How do you know my name, baldy?" she spat, immediately receiving a slap from Hookthorn, whom she glared at most venomously. _

"_That's none of your business, Ms. Kaida. If you would follow me…" he turned around and walked back out the door, Hookthorn and assistants following. Noticing the six year old not moving, he sighed and turned to Hookthorn. "If you could assist Ms. Kaida it would be lovely, Janice." The woman nodded and the guards grabbed onto the brunette's arms, dragging her from the room._

_**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**_

"_I am Dr. Slythin, Kaida. I will help you… understand your powers and help you feel at home here. I hope we will be good friends," the bald man said with a cheery smile. Or a would-be cheery smile if it wasn't so obviously fake._

"_O well. Some hopes are best left forgotten," was the child's only reply. _Great,_ she thought. _They're getting Porky Pig here to interrogate me.

"_So how is your family?"_

"_They're dead."_

"_Oh I'm sorry to hear that. Was it an accident?"_

"_It was an assassination, you Leprechaun." Her tone was bitter, but she didn't care. Those memories still stung like a fresh cut. A cut that seemed to never heal._

_The doctor raised an eyebrow. "Leprechaun? Well that's new. They were assassinated, you say? Do you know why? What was your parents' profession?"_

It's a trap! They're trying to find out who I am! They'll kill me if they know… just like they killed my family! And my neighbors! _"…Why do you want to know?"_

"_I am a therapist, Kaida. I need to know my patient. What traumatic events have happened in the past six months?"_

_She frowned. This was getting them nowhere. "I was taken off the streets, away from my friends, thrown into this forsaken lab, experimented on, slapped and paralyzed at least fifty times a day, given powers, and put in a room with an anorexic woman with a stick up her butt and a dwarf, who I am playing 20 questions with. I think that just about covers it. That and the fact that this all happened in 2 days." She looked around, somewhat pleased with the results._

_The assistants' mouths dropped to about their knees, Hookthorn was steaming and the pencil in her hand was broken into five pieces, and the shorty in front of her was completely flushed and trying to confine his anger._

_His eyes flashed with annoyance. "I know who you are. You father had the same kind of temper. That led him to where he is now, isn't it, Ms. _Michiyo_?"_

_Kaida leapt up, red eyes blazing, unnoticed fire at her fingertips. "HOW DARE YOU, YOU MIDGET!" She punched him HARD across the face, her fist enveloped in flames. "HOW can you SAY that! YOU DON'T KNOW WHO HE IS! WHO HE WAS!" The guards tried to restrain the girl with no success; unless you call burning clothes and hair success, that is. She felt the dart hit her in the shoulder but she couldn't care less. THEY didn't know what it felt like. To have everything lost in ten minutes. To have their father push them outside before going back inside for the others, and never come back. They didn't know. "YOU COULD NEVER KNOW MY PAIN!" She leapt towards Hookthorn, heated by hate. The scientist closed her eyes, awaiting the searing burns. The burns that never came. She opened them cautiously to an unconscious child at her feet, blood seeping from her back. Her eyes were dulled, the once blazing hatred in them dampened to small embers. Slythin stood behind the girl, gun smoking in his hand. His burned cheek was a dark reminder of what Janice Hookthorn's could have looked like._

_The girl laughed thinly, sanity all but diminished. "Some therapist you are," she stated before closing her eyes. _

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Kaida took a breath, ignoring the wide-eyed looks the gundam pilots were giving her. "Yup. That's about half of it."

Heero recovered first. "Your father is Tekeshi Michiyo?"

The brunette nodded. "And my mother Katsu."

Duo's mouth, still, hung open. "The bastard shot you?"

Heero ignored his comment. "I see what Slythin meant. You _do_ have some of the pacifist leader's traits."

"The bastard shot you?"

"He was known for his quick temper and recovery, and slipping through media rumors with quick responses," said Trowa, stretching his arms.

"The bastard shot you?"

"Yup, that was my dad alright. He, my mom, and my sister and brother died on that day way back when. I was always presumed dead." The brunette said, staring intently at a dent in the floor that had suddenly caught her interest.

"Ok, ok. Let me get this straight." Duo said, shifting his position. He looked his friend directly in the eyes. "That bastard shot you?"

Keahi whomped him over the head, scowling. "Yes, Braidboy. The bastard shot her." She tugged at the elastic band that held her hair up, letting it fall around her shoulders in dark blonde waves.

Suddenly a blonde teen barreled into the room, contempt shining in his eyes. The disdain deepened when he saw the guests. "You," he said pointing to Kaida. "So what they said _is_ true. You brought more outsiders here! We're gonna be found, you bitch!"

Kaida remained sitting, looking into his amethyst eyes. "You should have more respect for your leader, Rallon." Authority was evident in her voice, if not in her posture. She sat up straight, shoulders squared, head held high. "This is the third time this month."

"Why I outta-"

"But you won't, will you?" she cut off. "Because, once again, you will run away with your tail between your legs like a scared pup. You're not even enough to sicken me."

His eyes blazed. "You are a horrible boss. If I was the leader-"

"The sewers would be coming around our ears by now." She had cut him off again.

He shot a lightning bolt in her direction, which she dodged. Kaida stood up, lightly dusting off her black cargos. "That is why your brother is my advisor, not you," she stated flatly.

Quatre looked from Zach to Rallon, then back to Zach. _They don't look like siblings at all. They're both tall, but Zach's hair is black while his brother's is platinum blonde. Their eyes are different, too. Light gray and violet. What a strange combination. Not to mention their face shapes: Zach's is heart shaped while Rallon's is more square. I would have never guessed they were related at all. _

Kaida moved too fast to see. She reappeared next to her opponent, flame-lit fingers poised above his throat, eyes flashing. "Your insolence is ceasing to amuse me. Leave now, Ember." With that, she slashed her hand sideways, singeing his chest. She turned to her friends, walking away from the defeated rebel. "Now where were we?"

The embarrassed Rallon turned and stormed off, leaving the reminiscing group to continue with their story.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

_As the years ticked away, so did Kaida's patience. Every week, they would be given a new dosage, increasing both their powers and limitations. More children came to sector 7, but left soon after._

_Keahi had come up with a theory. The greater the hate and pain you had, the higher the dosage you could endure. It proved to be true, when they were experimented on soon after one of their friends left sector 3 due to an overdose. Kaida personally had been surprised he had lasted that long. Allen had always had such a quiet and frightened demeanor, yet he had lasted four months of testing before he left. However, he had made good friends with Zach, who was furious after he found out. After the departure, Zach was running 150 over standard, Keahi and Kaida 130, and Heba, Helen, and Saki over 90._

_Rallon had previously been in their group. However, the more he was tested, the angrier and more irritable he got. Eventually, after a fight with Kaida, he left them alone, hate and scorn etched into his heart._

_A few months after Kaida and Keahi's 13 birthdays, the brunette heard a scientist talking in the hall with Dr. Hookthorn. "Doctor, is it true what they're saying in the lounge? Are you really trying to develop a _dragon_?" _

_Hookthorn paused. "Yes. Very true. So true I think I'll just have to give up on my other project."_

"_But doctor, the children cannot be released into public… that would be an atrocity. Building crashing, holes in the outer wall, all results of your experimentation. Word would get out, ma'am."_

"_The monsters will not be released," she said coldly._

"_Doctor?"_

"_Bridget, these monstrosities cannot live like other people. They would wreck havoc everywhere they went. The colony would be in shambles. We are disposing of the beasts."_

_**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**_

_During the social time the next day, Kaida related to her friends what she had overheard. Keahi was outraged. "DISPOSE? They talk as if we were leftover meatloaf!"_

"_Nice simile, Shakespear," Saki said, rolling her eyes._

_Zach glared at her. One year their senior, he was taller by a few inches. "This is serious Saki. They could kill off eighty to a hundred kids. That would create a huge population drop. Think about it. They could just round us all up in here and gas us all like in World War II."_

_Keahi continued to rant on. "AND they called us a PROJECT! LIKE THEY'RE GOIN TO SCIENCE FAIR OR SOMETHIN!"_

"_Keahi, SHUT UP." Kaida growled, surprisingly getting results. _

_Helen looked down. "What are we going to do?"_

_The brunette smirked, getting a mischievous glint in her eye. "We're gonna blow this joint. Literally." _

_**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**_

_About a week later, Hookthorn made an announcement over the loud speakers, to all who were concerned with the food fight in the cafeteria that afternoon. Namely, Kaida, Keahi, and Helen. The trio slowly made their way to the therapeutically devoted office. There, they stood awaiting trial as the minutes passed, when finally Slythin walked in. The burn on his cheek never went away, nor did he scar in his ego whenever he saw the sender. _

"_Girls, you know what you did was wrong. I know it all started out an accident. But it didn't remain that way. You could have stopped slinging the food at any time, but you didn't. Therefore, I am assigning each of you 1/3 of the Dictionary, which you will copy down, _by hand_, for tomorrow. Understood? Good. Now return to your sectors immediately, you have no time to dilly dally." He stood up and was about to leave the room when someone behind him cleared their throat. _

"_Dr. Slythin, have you been avoiding your sessions with me lately?" Kaida asked tauntingly. _

"_I have not been able to attend due to personal reasons, Ms. Michiyo."_

"_I see. Well, maybe your wounded pride will never go away, although you could put some cover-up over that scar if you wanted."_

_Slythin turned to scold the teen for her rudeness but found himself facing an empty room, devoid of anyone but himself. "You'll never finish your work, girls. It's tonight, and I'm glad," he sneered, walking out of the office._

_**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**_

_Keahi and Kaida sat in their sector, copying the words out of the thick book in front of them. "Damn the English language. Damn it all to hellllllll," stated Keahi, voice full of scorn. Kaida took a deep breath and started coughing. _

_She looked up to the air vents to see green gas flowing from it. "Keahi, screw the assignment. They've started gasin' the place."_

"_You sure?" she asked without looking up. _

"_See for yourself, Einstein." _

_Keahi looked up at the now very green air. "Ok. They've started." A smile slowly crept over her face. "And so have we."_

_**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**_

_The pair ran through the hallway, stopping only to bang on sectors' doors, signaling it was time to wing it. Kids and teens alike flooded into the hallway, splitting into the groups they had been assigned earlier that week. _

_They ran as fast as they could to escape the death-seeking gases, but unfortunately we unable to prevent a few losses to the hands of Satan. _

_Kaida stopped suddenly in front of an unmarked door, feeling compelled to open it. Her roommate tugged on her arm. "Kaida, time to go! Come on!" _

_The brunette turned to her friend. "K, take my group. I've got somethin else to do."_

_The blonde caught the seriousness in her comrade's voice, and nodded. "Just get out, ok?" _

_Kaida smiled and nodded, not knowing quite at all if she would. "Don't worry! I will!" _

_As Keahi rounded the corner with both of their groups, Kaida sighed. "…I hope." She turned, once again, to the persuasive door, her urge to open it nearly overflowing._

_She pushed it open, stepping into a darkish room that's only light emitted from the tanks in the center. The soft light drew her in, and she gasped at what it contained. Inside laid two small, spotted eggs, from which the light shone. _Dragon eggs_… she realized. _

_**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**_

_All the groups stood away from the labs, waiting for Kaida to get out. Keahi stood closest to the building, anxious to see her friend run out of the building before it was time. Suddenly someone ran through the doors of the lad, bag in hand. _

"_Come on! Time to get rid of this place!" Kaida said, tossing the bag she held to Heba, skidding to a stop next to her roommate. They noticed a few lab members, including Hookthorn and Slythin, tried to escape the building, obviously understanding what their precious lab rats had planned. _

_Kaida's eyes glowed a blood red, glinting dangerously with the hate she had developed for them over the years. "YOU'RE NOT GETTING OUT OF THERE, BASTARDS!" she yelled, throwing balls of fire towards were she knew the chemical storage was, Keahi joining in. Hookthorn's black eyes widened with fear at the two flaming comets flying towards her. The last thing she saw was Kaida's face wrought with loathing and an evil smirk. "Have fun in hell."_

_The explosion even burned some of the teens, who were standing at least 400 meters away. "It's over. It's finally over," gasped the brunette, falling to her knees. _

"_No it's not." She looked up to Keahi, who was more serious than Kaida had ever seen her. "What are we gonna do know?"_

"_We're gonna live."_

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"_We're gonna live." _… Kaida's last words still echoed through the braided pilot's head as they ran through the backstreets of the colony. He, Kaida, and Saki decided to "pick something up" from the store. For him and the brunette, it was mostly for old time's sake… for Saki, however, it was a necessity. Ever since Keahi had burnt her pants after turning the blonde's hair into an afro, she had been where one of Heba's spare skirts, which were long and hard to move around in, despite the slit in the side.

Saki popped into a clothing shop, darting out with a pair of black slacks. The trio ran until the fat shop keeper gave up; he was too out of shape to do much running anyway.

Duo was next, flirting with the cashier at Starbucks while casually slipping ten bottled fraps and a doubleshot into a "grocery" bag he was carrying. He left with no more commotion than a blushing waitress, strolling lazily out of the shop. The redhead stared wide-eyed at the pilot, amazed he lifted almost a dozen drinks from such a heavily popular hangout without so much as a warning. He smirked at her face and looked to his childhood friend. "Where to next?"

Kaida had a more difficult task: dinner. "Does sushi and hamburgers sound ok?" she asked her two companions. Duo raised an eyebrow.

"Together?"

"What do you think, Shinigami?" retorted the Pyronic with a tug to her friend's braid.

"Hey!"

"Just burgers is fine," Saki said with a grin.

"Then in that case, here's stop one." They halted a few yards from a hamburger vender. "You guys keep goin'. I'll catch up," she said with a smug smirk. Duo shrugged and kept walking, keeping an eye on Kaida. She disappeared and was soon standing next to them again, five wrapped hamburgers under each arm, one in hear pocket. The seller didn't even seem to miss them. She silently slipped the packages inside Duo's bag, and looked back up at the two people in front of her. "Next stop, HQ!"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"The way you took care of things was awesome! Like bambambambamKABOM! An all-out ammo attack! It's like, screw psychiatrists, I got a GUNDAM! Hahaha!" Keahi and Trowa walked along the alley ways and empty streets, talking about random things, from bananas to religion, and eventually to the gundams.

Trowa shrugged. "It's not as fun as you think. But when some people take out their anger by punching pillows, I can go stomp on trees." The blonde stopped, throwing back her head and laughing.

"I knew you had to joke sometimes! No one can be stone faced 24/7!" she said pointing a finger at him.

"Except for Heero."

She thought on that a moment, and blinked a couple of times. "Good point. Well, anyway, getting off subject…"

The brunette next to her raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "There was a subject?"

"Yeah. Kinda. Not really… nope." She said, pulling her hair back up into a ponytail. "I actually wish I could have fought in the wars. It's kinda hard with these powers to even find a job, let alone become a soldier. I mean, come on, what's so bad about fighting for what you believe in?"

"A lot, especially when you don't know what _to_ believe in." At the curious look from his companion, he continued. "You kept tabs on the gundams during the Eve Wars, right?"

She nodded, "And Mariemaia's invasion."

Trowa looked down. What was the best way to explain this? "Our objectives were never met because of changing circumstances. The original Operation Meteor was to drop the colonies onto earth. Obviously, we changed our goals."

"Thank God," Keahi said bluntly, tugging at the small black hoop in her right ear.

"What's so bad about powers?"

"Cravings. Powers sometimes respond to our emotions, and it's not all that fun when you want some ColdStone." She pulled on the jacket that was around her waist, it being a bit chilly. "The urge makes the ice cream melt."

At the last statement, Trowa laughed, his deep voice resounding through the alleyway. Keahi smiled, vaguely knowing the rarity of such an occasion.

They turned onto what they thought was a nearly empty street when the girl ran into someone. "Oh, um sorry-" she looked up at the man who she had just offended, eyes shrinking in surprise. She had run smack dab into the chief in charge of the Pyronics operation. "You…"

His eyes narrowed. "You…" The buff man looked over at Trowa who had just lightly pulled Keahi away from the officer. His eyes widened. He had been a soldier of White Fang, and once glimpsed the pilots. "You- you're a-!"

He never finished his sentence. He laid on the ground, a green eyed teen standing above him. The blonde chuckled softly, brushing past the boy and tugging his arm. "That's another way to relieve stress." A grin spread across her face. "Come on, Tro, it's time for dinna!" She said, with a flourish of her hand. The brunette smirked.

_This vacation might not be so bad after all…"_

**A/N: HEY! Sorry it's so late… you know, school, writers block, and all that shit. I gave you very very long chappy! I hope you liked! Review and I'll give you some jello! I think it's lime or lemon… I'm not quite sure… I haven't looked in the fridge for an hour… that shows how _great_ my memory is… right Neko?**

**AngerMangement5292: (rolls eyes) o so great. She forgot who I was when I was talking to her on IM… and I'm her best friend!**

**DML: yup! (glomps to AM) bestest buddys!**

**AM: (mouths) help me! She's hyper today!**

**DML: damn straight! Anyway, review please! **


	7. St Regis and Special K

**I am currently at a friend's house, and she has electricity, so I decided to post! Sorry to make you guys worry about me. At least we weren't hit by the eye wall of Rita! My house still doesn't have electricity, which means no tv, internet, air conditioning, cold beverages, etc. I'M LIVING LIKE A HARD CORE AMISH BITCH! HELL YA!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing. Unfortunately. I'm only borrowing. But SOME people don't give back what they're borrowing… (glares at sister)**

**Sis- FINE! HAVE YOUR SOCKS YOU VAMPIRE! (throws socks at DML) **

**DML- (catches socks) IT'S MY LUCKY PAIR! I WROTE IT ON THE BOTTOM IN BLUE SHARPIE! BAKA!**

**Sis- WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?**

**DML- (smirks) Wouldn't you like to know?**

**Sis- (grins evilly) Oh yes I would… (grabs frying pan)**

**DML- EEF! (starts running, Sis in pursuit)**

**AngerManagement5292- (watches with amusement) (turns to reader) the point is she doesn't own anything besides that pair of socks her sister stole and the computer she writes this on. Which is so pathetic. (starts laughing hysterically) **

**DML- WELL YOUR BROTHER'S IN COLLEGE!**

**AM- I KNOW! (rolls on ground laughing) **

**gundam gurl: you're in for some tough competition if you want Trowa: my friend's already claimed him. Actually, I modeled a character after her in this fic… weird part is… she bites people, too. Thanks for worrying about Hurricane Rita, WHICH IS CURRENTLY BURNING IN HELL! It turned east suddenly, so we got the clean side. Unfortunatly, I am going on my 4th night w/o AC, so it's hot in here. I'm at my friend's house right now, and she has electricity. Here's a snickerdoodle! I know you love them, so I tried my hand at a batch myself! I put in 2x as much sugar I was supposed to though… WHO CARES! Thanks for reviewing, my friend! **

**Kitten-KC: wow! A new reviewer! Thanks for worrying also. I don't think I have any other international reviewers, so I think that's awesome! What part of Canada do you live in? **

**ON WITH THE FIC!**

**Don't Mess with Fire **

**Part 7**

Five boys walked into the dark hotel room, flicking the lights on as they went. The braided pilot cringed in mock horror. "AHH! THE LIGHT!"

"Shut up Maxwell," sneered an irritated, yet tired, Wufei, pushing past the Shinigami and stalking into the bedroom.

"Seesh. Guess I shudda gotten somethin other than a doubleshot for Wu-man…" muttered Duo, stuffing his hands in his pockets, ignoring the shout from the bedroom.

"SHUT UP!"

Trowa flopped down on the couch, running the events back through his mind. _This place is just too weird. Which probably explains Duo…_ he thought, glancing at said pilot, who was currently annoying the hell out of a silently fuming Wufei, Heero and Quatre looking on. _I've got to go help set up for the show tomorrow… we were to busy today… I wonder how they handled the lion. Catherine's going to kill me. Probably by feeding me some of her food… when I talked to her last, she said she would try her hand at lasagna. I fear for the ringmaster._

The silent clown grabbed a bag, and began folding and laying clothes into it. It was hard to describe what had happened two hours previous during dinner with the Pyronics leader and her council.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"_Yeah, so we're staying at a place called the St. Regis on the other side of the colony- are you okay?" Quatre asked Kaida, who had just choked on her burger on the words "St. Regis". _

_She swallowed and held up a hand, signaling she was fine. "Did you say the 'St. Regis'? That place is for rich people! Who's paying for it?" All the guys looked at the blonde that was sitting between Saki and Zach, eating the hamburger he had cut into fourths for smaller bites. _

"_Blondie, trust me, you have gotta check out. That place usurps all your money for horrible service."_

_Duo raised an eyebrow. "Then tell me, oh powerful one, where are we supposed to crash?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest._

_Kaida thought a minute, and voiced her statement. She was never one to ramble on when it came to replies. "Here." Everyone looked at the brunette in shock. Helen recovered first, expressing a comment that soon became obvious to the listeners._

"_The gang will rebel. They won't allow outsiders to stay without them being part of the crew. They can't stay… unless they want to join, that is."_

"_Well, do you guys want to hang with the gang?" Kaida asked, turning to the gundam pilots. She accented on the "ang" part of each word._

_Keahi just shook her head. "You're pathetic."_

"_Thank you."_

"_Anyway, do you guys wanna join or not?" Keahi asked while her brunette friend stretched out her hand towards them, palm up. A flame burst to life in front of their eyes, the flare itself glowing with dark red energy. _

"_If you want to join, all you must do is touch the flame," she said in a strong, yet calming, voice, the fire dancing in her hands. _

_Duo reached out immediately, touching the crimson flame as it leapt between his fingers. Strangely and surprisingly, Trowa touched it soon after, little doubt etched in his face. Quatre, fearing burns, lightly rested his hand in the blaze, but, after realizing it didn't hurt him, relaxed. Wufei suspiciously looked around the room, glancing at everyone in turn, and coming to a rest on Heba, before he reached out to touch it. _

_Throughout the entire meeting, the Perfect Soldier had watched Kaida and her expression. Once she turned to him and met his eyes, she felt his distrust towards her and her intentions, but wiped that thought away quickly. He could see her go from calm and collected to confused, and then strength overcome her slightly shaken appearance. A credulous smile found itself on her lips, outstretching her palm towards Heero. Without breaking eye contact, he placed his hand into the flames, feeling them jump up and lick his fingers. _

_Once the final pilot had touched the blaze, the fire itself wound itself into an almost serpentine form, red eyes glistening. The dragon fire split into five, each winding themselves around a boy's arms and into their mouths. Only then did Heero break contact with the girl in front of him, peering about at his comrades. _

_They didn't look different; they didn't act different; they _felt_ different. The warm feeling wound itself comfortably around their chests, as if settling into its new home, and slowly dimmed, becoming all but a small spark of its former self._

_Kaida sat cross-legged, elbows on knees, head in hands. She looked physically, if not emotionally, drained. Duo looked at her worriedly. "Hey, K, maybe you should take a nap or something…"_

"_This is nothing sleep can cure," stated Keahi simply, looking over at her friend as well. "She-"_

"_OMG SHE'S GONNA DIE, ISN'T SHE! IT'S ALL OUR FAULT! MY FAULT! I KILLED HER!" Duo went on and on and on until finally the dark blonde threw a shoe at him._

"_She's not dying, you idiot."_

"_Oh really? That's good."_

"_Yes it is. Now as I was saying… she doesn't need sleep. She just needs a little… recharge," she said, a broad grin on her face. She sat before her friend, who wearily looked up at her and smiled. "This I'll only take a minute, Kaida." After receiving a nod, she placed her hands on the brunette's shoulders, sending a river of flames into the barely conscious body. "It was idiotic of you to do that, you know." _

_Kaida sat up straight, stretching her arms above her head. "Yup. Don't care."_

"_You are mentally unstable, ya know that?" _

"_Hell ya. How else do you thing I lived this long?"_

_Suddenly a flash of brown launched itself out at the Pyronic leader, glomping around her shoulders. "SHE'S ALIVE!" yelled an ecstatic Duo, unaware of his friend trying to pry him off her. _

_He finally let go, ruffling her already messed up hair. "It's a good thing I calmed down Trowa over there. He thought you were gone for sure."_

_The clown whapped his friend over the head, raising an eyebrow at the Shinigami. "Pardon?"_

"_Heh, heh! Must not have been you…" Duo muttered, rubbing the back of his head. He turned back at Kaida, who was just smiling in amusement. "So when do we move in?"_

_Saki appeared out of nowhere, beaming cheek to cheek. "TONIGHT!" _

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

The guys arrived inside the warehouse, finding Helen waiting for them. Leading them through the labyrinth-like tunnels, they soon found themselves asking about their tour guide's past.

"Actually, the reason I have this accent is that I moved here from England, and my family and I are British. I'm sure I still have relatives on Earth, but it's difficult to let them know you're alive when you live in sewers." She looked down and laced her fingers together behind her, closing her eyes at the terrible memory. "A few months after we arrived, those horrible suits came to assassinate Mr. Michiyo. I and my brother made it out of the house alive, but he died with an infection before I was picked up by the whitesuits." Quatre put a comforting hand on her shoulder, telling her she didn't have to explain to them.

"Oh, no, it's fine," she replied quickly, placing a sad smile on her face. "Kaida and Keahi never cry, nor will I. It is a great weakness. Kaida hasn't cried sense she was first taken off the streets by Hookthorn. I don't know about Keahi." The blonde quickened her pace and waved for them to follow her. They turned another corner and set off down that tunnel.

Duo had been taken aback by her statement. Hasn't cried of eleven years? What was she, the Ironman Champion of Emotions? Hell, she could probably beat Heero.

He looked to the ceiling, a sad sigh escaping from his lips. _Has it really been that long? eleven years? How time flies…_ pictures from his past flashed through his mind… finding Kaida, bringing her to Solo unconscious, teaching her how to steal and the alleyways of the colony, she telling him she'd be there that night… and she never coming. He shook his head quickly, earning a few odd stares from his peers. He couldn't bring himself to think of that night. He just couldn't.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

When the small group finally arrived at the sleeping quarters, they beheld a bizarre sight.

A curtain separator was up in flames, and an extremely flustered and busy Zach frantically trying to extinguish them. Every time he put out the flames on one side, a new blaze started on the other. Running back and forth, he iced over the fire, only for it to melt into an inferno once more.

Keahi, on the other hand, was laughing her ass off in the corner, literally rolling on the ground as she started new hot spots on the advisor's room separator. This game was obviously of her invent, it bringing her so much amusement.

Kaida stood between the two, glaring at the trouble maker angrily. Finally, Zach turned on his friend furiously, flames still incinerating the cloth. "KEAHI! WHY DID YOU SET MY DIVIDER AFIRE!"

Said criminal stopped laughing as best she could and put on an innocent face. "It's quite simple really. Payback."

"FOR WHAT!" questioned the gray eyed teen, who was nearly pulling his hair out in agitation.

"That brain freeze you gave me a night ago."

"FOR THAT!"

The dark blonde ignored the ranting lad (A/N: HAHA! LOVE THAT WORD) and turned to the leader. "Go ahead and laugh. I know you want to. It's completely obvious."

Heero and Trowa looked at each other. _She won't laugh. She's completely serious._ Then they looked towards a grinning Duo. _Or maybe not…_

A hysteric laugh split the air, echoing in the small dugout. A brunette was rolling on the floor next to her blonde friend, laughing as if she would die in the next minute.

Helen coughed, and Keahi and Kaida at last noticed the pilots and their messenger standing before them with odd looks on their faces. They stood up immediately, straightening themselves unconsciously.

They stood in different clothes than the guys had last seen them in, they being what they wore under the officials jackets. Kaida wore a red wrap-around tank, which exposed her stomach, and baggy black cargos. Keahi wore a black spaghetti strap top and grey cargos, a black belt holding them up. Their high-necked collars on their jackets hid the circular discs that hung from their necks on black leather thongs. The brunette's was of an orange, black, and red stone, the blonde's of white and blue.

The guys finally snapped out of the dazed state they were in when Kaida started talking. "So, um, over here is your room-thing, so FOLLOW ME!" she walked into a large, curtained area, with five pallets and blankets arranged on the floor. Saki presented each item as Keahi pointed them out, acting as if they were on the Wheel of Fortune.

Duo sweatdropped at her antics. "She's like the Energizer Bunny," he commented dryly.

Zach stalked into the room, making a beeline for a certain blonde who wasn't paying attention. _WHACK _"OW! DUDE, WHAT WAS THAT FOR!"

"FOR BURNING DOWN MY CURTAIN!"

"DUDE YOU STINK!"

"YOU STINK!"

"MY ASS!"

The gundam pilots watched the two go at each other, Zach coming up with horrible comebacks, Keahi cussing her head off. Kaida smiled, _really_ smiled, at them.

"Boys, welcome to the Pyronics."

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

**FF TO NIGHT**

A figure crept away from his four sleeping companions, quietly slipping away out of the sectioned area. He drew the curtains closed, turning to the sitting area, only to find what he least expected staring back at him. "Hey Kaida."

"Oi," she replied, a sad smile adorning her lips.

"Couldn't sleep, huh? Neither could I." he sat next to her on the overstuffed couch, not minding its condition. "We never really had a chance to talk before." He looked at her, slowly meeting her eyes. They told everything- she was shattered. They told her story of destruction, abuse, loneliness, love. No tears rimmed her eyes; no redness told of her sorrow. She was good with hiding her emotions, yes; just not to her friends. She once said for those who knew her, she had subtitles. There was no better way to explain it.

Duo placed a hand on her head, slightly ruffling her hair. For once it was not down and restrained by her red trademark bandana. Instead, it was pulled into an extremely loose ponytail at the nape of her neck, strands of hair tumbling in front of her face. "I know what's wrong."

Her blue eyes widened in surprise, looking at him innocently. "Nothing's wrong. Why'd you say that?"

The pilot's hand moved in soft circles through her hair, knowing she liked the way it felt. In ways she was like a dog: loyal, playful, trusting… yet her nature indicated her of being more of a wolf. She was free, proud, strong, stubborn… and loving. She loved her friends, hated her enemies. The longer you were her friend, the deeper you fell into her heart, the harder it hurt when you left each other.

He gently pulled her head unto his shoulder, still running his fingers through her hair. He fell hardest. Out of Solo and the others, he fell hardest when she didn't return that night. Eleven years ago. "I know today's when it happened. And I know I won't leave until you actually talk to me. Hell… it's been too long."

She quietly nodded. "Way too long. It's hard to believe _how_ long." Kaida slowly wrapped her arms around his torso, inwardly relieved when he returned the gentle embrace.

"Twelve since my home blowing like popcorn, eleven since they took me." She chuckled sadly at her attempt at a joke, but Duo could feel her shiver against his chest.

"Kaida-"

"Why?" she looked up at him, eyes wet, lipid orbs begging for an answer. "Why did all this happen?"

"Because destiny is cruel," he replied, involuntarily adding a hint of bitterness to his voice. "Cruel to the world. Cruel to the people," he released a hand and cupped her cheek, "and cruel to the Little Dragon who lost everything." He pulled her back into a comfortable hug, placing his head in the crook of her neck. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not." He visibly faltered, and she chuckled, squeezing her eyes closed. "If fate wasn't cruel, I would have never met Keahi, Zach, Heba, Helen, Saki…" she whispered into his ear the last name. "…or you."

The God of Death pulled away from her warm presence, leaving one hand on his friend while the other dug through his pocket. He slowly withdrew its contents, handing them to the girl beside him. "Happy birthday."

Kaida nearly gaped at the gift. A pair of black, soft leather gloves lay in her hands; a black and red dragon embroidered the right hand piece. "Did you buy them?"

Duo shook his head, amused at her dazed expression. "Nope babe, why would I?" She eyed him firmly, smirk upon her lips.

"Thief's honor?"

"Thief's honor."

The girl pulled the giver into a warm hug. "This is my best present."

"The gloves?"

"Iie. You."

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Two figures watched the thieves from behind the curtains, occasionally glancing at each other with sinister smirks on their lips.

"It is unusual to find one as superior as myself when it comes to spying," the girl whispered slyly, dark blonde strands of hair fell into her face from her high slip bun.

The smirk broadened on the boy's face. "Compared to me, you are but a young grasshopper."

"I would be honored if you would teach me. In return, I shall show you the age-long art of blackmailing," Keahi chuckled, amused at their little game.

"I am enthralled with your offer." Trowa's green eyes glistened. He hadn't had _this_ much fun in a long time. The two shook hands on their agreement.

AND SO THE ALLIANCE WAS FORMED

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Morning saw Trowa and Keahi enter a forest of colorful tents, walking through the maze of trailers and cages until they arrived at the largest of the canvas canopies. As they emerged, an energetic brunette walked over to the green eyed pilot and, to Keahi's surprise, began scolding him.

"Trowa! You were supposed to be here last night to help move the lion out of the trailer! The only person who can touch it, let alone go near it, was missing, and it FREAKED OUT! IT SWIPED RINGMASTER'S HAT FROM RIGHT OFF HIS HEAD!" she had began shaking him from around the shoulders. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL WEEK! YOU KNOW I GET WORRIED! And who's this?" she stopped shaking Trowa to look at the stunned blonde next to him, voice quieting to an almost motherly tone.

The clown brushed the newcomer's hands off his shoulders, waving to his companion. "Catherine, this is Keahi. Keahi, this is my sister Catherine."

The brunette smiled and offered her hand. "Nice to meet you. Any friend of Trowa's is a friend of mine.

The dark blonde shook her hand, returning the grin. "Likewise. I didn't know Clowny here had a sister."

Trowa rolled his eyes at his new nickname. _Clowny. Great. She came up with it before Duo._ "We're not actually related."

Suddenly Catherine's eyes brightened. "I just remembered! I made some soup!" Then her face fell, jaw dropping. "OH NO! I LEFT THE STOVE ON!" she ran away from the two, mentally berating herself for her stupidity.

"Mmmm… soup sounds good…" the Pyronic started forward before being stopped by the pilot next to her.

"Not if you value your life."

Keahi arched an eyebrow. "It can't be _that_ bad… can it?"

"She burned a hole through the pot last month." The blonde checked his expression.

_Wow… he's completely serious… creepy…_ "Ok then. New subject…" she blew at the strands of hair that fell out of her ponytail and into her face. "What needs to be set up?"

Trowa searched the tent, smirking at their new job. "Well, it seems they've left the tight wire to me. As if I don't have enough time with it anyways."

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

They secured the final knot, standing on the small platform that stood on the side of the wire. "Done!" Keahi said triumphantly, giving the rope a small twang.

Trowa walked unto the thin wire, hands in pockets, eyes closed, as if going for a stroll down the sidewalk. Noticing him stop and gesture towards the identical platform on the other side, the blonde looked down, not seeing a safety net below them.

"The ladder is on the other side, Keahi. Come on. Or are you," Trowa raised a taunting eyebrow. "…afraid?"

The Pyronic scoffed. "You'll find I'm no scaredy-cat." She flipped over the wire, rotating several times before setting down gracefully on the far side of the brunette. She looked behind her, mischief evident in her dark brown eyes. "…but I always land on my feet." She walked away, not catching the smirk the clown sent her way.

"We'll see how good you are with cats in a moment."

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Duo stretched, walking out into the main area where everyone, with the exception of Trowa and Keahi, was lounging around. "Hey, where's Clown-boy and Anger-Management?"

Kaida looked up from her cereal bar. "Went to set up at the circus, why?"

Duo groaned. "I wanted to help. I love that place!"

Wufei walked by, eyes trained on the newspaper he was holding. "I bet you do."

The Shinigami just glared at him, "I bet Catherine's feeding them her _delicious_ food…"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"Come on! It's good for you!" Catherine said, trying to force a spoonful of broccoli and cream soup into Keahi's mouth. The blonde struggled.

"THERE'S NO FUCKIN WAY YOU'RE GETTING THAT IN MY MOUTH! YOU'RE TRYING TO POISON ME! TROWA! HELP ME! WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU!"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"…and hangin' out with the other clowns…"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"BASTARDS! YOU ALL CHEAT! CHEATCHEATCHEAT!"

One of the clowns raised an eyebrow. "We're playing go-fish… how can we cheat?"

"WHY DON'T YOU ASK YOUR FRIEND THERE!"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"…and playin' with the elephants…"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"HOLY SHIT! THIS STUFF SMELLS!"

"Well, yeah… we're cleaning out their cages…"

"WHICH SMELL LIKE SHIT!"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"…and having a HORRIBLE time… I laugh at them!"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"This place is freaking awesome! I always loved the circus! Sucks for the others who stayed home… I laugh at them! HAHAHA!"

Trowa just shook his head. "You have problems."

"Yes, I do, just not as many as Kaida. Damn, she's like mentally unstable I tell ya."

Not for the first time that day, the brunette smiled. _I've been smiling a lot more since we came here…_ he looked over to Keahi, who was currently seeing how long she could stand on one foot. _I wonder why…_ he was broken out of his thoughts when the ringmaster tapped his shoulder.

"Trowa, we need help with the lion," he tugged at his dark beard. "He won't let anyone near the cage to feed him. And I'm not going near him ever again," he pulled something from behind his back. "Look what he did to my hat!" the hat lay in shreds.

Keahi looked at it strangely. "It looks like it got in a fight with a weed-whacker."

Trowa pulled the blonde away from the confused, and slightly disturbed, ringmaster. "Come on, let's go feed the lion."

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"Just be cautious. He usually doesn't like strangers." The brunette had been lecturing Keahi since they arrived in the animal tent on how to approach the lion.

She rolled her eyes. "Dude. Trust me. You don't have to tell me how to pet a damn cat."

They arrived a few yards from a cage. The containments growled, but stopped when Trowa approached the metal bars. He gave the lion a quick rub behind the ears before throwing in a steak from the bucket he had been carrying. While the big cat attacked the meat, the pilot waved Keahi over from where she was standing.

In a flash she was by his side, fascination etched into her features. Trowa couldn't help but notice that she didn't even discern the tresses of hair falling into her face. Her lips curved into a gentle smile, and her eyes were… like the lion's. Proud… gentle… sharp… knowing… beautiful…almost glowing… the clown cleared his head immediately of such thoughts. _What is happening to me?_

The lion finally looked up from his dinner, observing the pair outside his cage. One was familiar but the other wasn't… yet comfortable. It lumbered over to the newcomer, who put forth her hand for inspection immediately. Trowa froze up… until the lion licked her hand. _Well that's a change in attitude…_ She rubbed beneath the cat's chin, coaxing out a soft chuff from the animal. Keahi turned to the stunned clown, smile lighting up her face.

"I've always been good with cats. Some of my friends even say I act like one," she said in a hushed voice, not wanting to disturb the lion that was greatly enjoying its massage session.

"I can tell," Trowa replied. Looking up, he suddenly realized how close they were, and stood up from his kneeling position. "Do you want to go in?"

"Am I allowed to?"

"No," he said with a small smile. "But I do all the time."

"Ok. I think I might just take up that offer," the blonde purred, lightly brushing past the pilot on her way to the cage door.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

The two beheld a… strange… scene when they arrived back at the sleeping quarters.

Kaida and Duo lay on opposite ends of the couch, looking fit to burst, groaning on how they could "see the light". Cereal bar wrappers lay around them, tauntingly flashing the words "Special K" in red at the stuffed teens.

Keahi sweatdropped. "I'm not even gonna ask what happened here."

"They had an eating competition. Kaida won," Heba said from the other side of the room.

The overfed Pyronic looked over to her best friend, giving her a smirk and thumbs up. "Let's just say I'm Special. K?" she then fell back with a groan, nearly passing out.

"Watching them…" Trowa turned his attention to the corner, where Wufei lay, curled into the fetal position, eyes wide. "…it was… _disgusting_…"

**A/N: Hello again! I'm so sorry this came out so late. First my computer almost crashed, but when I fixed it, I had lost half of the effin chapter! I was like "NOOOOOOOOOO!" but I was in my school hallway at the time so people just looked at me _really_ weirdly. I don't blame them. I scare myself. Anyway, then Hurricane Rita came and RUINED THIS WHOLE SYSTEM THAT I HAD SET UP! I should have warned ya: 7's my unlucky number. Next fic I write, I'm skipping from chapter 6 to chapter 8. No number 7. 7 will burn in hell. On a happier note, I hope you liked the chapter! The last part focused mostly on Keahi and Trowa, which I personally think are a good pair. Don't know if I'll make them a couple, though. What do you think? PLEASE TELL ME! Oh, and Saruwatari finally came back from the vet. (rubs flaming wolf's head affectionately, wolf growling in pleasure) turns out she ate a frying pan. My dad was wondering where it had gone. Anyway, thank you for reading! TTYS I hope!**

**--DML**


	8. Maps and Thumbtacks

**Disclaimer: Santa didn't bring me Duo, Trowa, Heero, Quatre or Wufei for Christmas, only a pair of socks. So no, I don't own them, so no, you don't have to call your lawyers.**

**gundam gurl: haha I agree… you can always add more sugar! Haha! And Dani will most likely attack you in an alley or somethin if you go after Tro. Haha! Actually, I'm serious… watch your back! Glad you liked last chapter, hope this one will be just as good or better!**

**Kitten KC: that's awesome! I have an international reviewer! (does happy dance) Thanks! I try to make my story as awesome as possible**

**sockpup: three words. Go to hell. To harsh? Oh, I don't think it's harsh enough…**

**Super Duck-chan: Thanks! I think I'm gonna go with that pairing too… I LOVE JELLO TOO! I just suck at making it… I think I made the neighbor's dog sick when I put it out in the trash… but I totally don't mind the randomness! I'm probably the most random person you could EVER meet…**

**Sutoomu: Thanks! The thing is, I don't even _try_ to make it funny… it just ends up that way! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!... sorry bout that… spasmodic outbursts like that usually happen while I'm doing my homework… creepy…**

**ON WITH CHAPPY 8!**

**Don't Mess with Fire**

**Part 8**

Saki sat on the floor looking dully up at Rallon, who had been pacing since he discovered the gundam pilots were staying in the sleeping quarters. "…We can't stand for this… Outsiders coming in here is the worst idea of all that Kaida came up with. She's going soft. Just because one of them was her old running-buddy, all _five_ of them get to stay here! I've got to do something about her…"

The redhead's ears pricked up at the last thing her friend had said. "Rallon, are you nuts? She's the lead Pyronic! Everyone supports her! You might think if you cut off the head, the rest with die alone with it, but that's not the case here! If that happened, Keahi, Zach, Heba and Helen will take control and sort things out before you could even lift a finger!"

"Do you think I don't know that?" the blonde snapped, violet eyes flashing. Saki rolled her eyes. Usually he was so happy and considerate, that is, until Kaida riles him up. She stood and walked to the fluming teen, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, regret for yelling at her evident in his eyes. "Sorry. She just pisses me off so much! I just wanna… GAH! Never mind..."

"Then why don't you?" she purred, glancing up at him through her eyelashes, sending a shiver down his spine. She had a tendency of doing that. "If you want to so much… then why don't you?" She brushed past him, leaving the ghost of a kiss on his cheek. He turned around, but she was gone.

…_then why don't you?_

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Keahi and Kaida walked back from the circus with Duo and Trowa, talking and laughing on their way back to the hideout. The former Pyronic felt her back tingle whenever the clown directed a comment towards her, but was determined not to blush.

The brunette suddenly cut out the laughter her comrades were making, focusing on the sounds around them. _There it was again…_

"Keahi."

"Yeah?" the blonde turned to a very serious Kaida, eyes flickering between blue and red constantly. She stopped and listened, eyes narrowing at the results. "There're fifteen this time."

Kaida sniffed, earning her a few strange looks from Duo and Trowa. "P-Squad. About three new recruits."

By that time, the two pilots had opened their senses, listening and looking for the ambushers. Duo caught sight of something leaping between the buildings, Trowa hearing movements in front of them.

"Side attack from the alleyways."

"There's a blocking line upfront."

Almost as soon as the clown finished his statement, the small group found themselves surrounded by men and women in police uniforms, guns trained on the teenagers before them.

Keahi smirked. "What a way to end the night!"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Quatre leaned against the wall, talking with Zach, ignoring Heero's glares at the small radio, which only issued forth "golden oldies" by this time at night.

"Zach… it was mentioned before that you and Rallon are brothers… is that true? I mean, you look so different." The blonde asked, finally relieving himself of the burden that had been weighing his mind for the past 24 hours.

Immediately he regretted bring up the subject, as Zach's face darkened at the name of his sibling. "Yeah. We're brothers. Twins, in fact, but fraternal. He takes after our father, me our mom," he mumbled, playing with his thin ponytail that lay silkily down his back. "We had an older sister, too, by three years, but she and mom died of pneumonia when we were five. Our sad excuse for a father left Rallon and me at home the day after, catching a shuttle back to earth himself."

Quatre's eyes widened. "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up-"

"No, it's fine. I have a better life here than I ever would with that son of a bitch," he said, watching Helen walk into the room. Quatre smiled as he saw his companion's eyes glint and his lips turn up into a smile as he greeted her.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

The ambush, for the _ambushers _that is, was unsuccessful. However, for the ambushees, it was, indeed, very successful.

"Hey! It's a Rolex!" Keahi smiled triumphantly as she held up the watch, inspecting it critically. "It has two scratches on the face… but we can still get a lot for it at the black market!"

"Leave their pants, Duo! Give them _some_ dignity!" Trowa yelled at the braided pilot.

"I'm not stealing their pants!" the God of Death replied indignantly. "I'm checking for extra ammo!"

"Right…"

Kaida noticed an attacker waking up, groaning as he rubbed his head. Scrambling back as he noticed the Pyronic stalk up to him, unable to escape his inevitable capture, he closed his eyes as her hand tightened around his collar, raising him to eye-level.

Her eyes blazed with an unknown fire, mouth set in a grim line. "One: who sent you? Two: why did you come? And three: what the hell possessed you to wear those socks with that outfit?" she looked at the disgusting neon yellow socks with bright pink happy bunnies bouncing around the edging.

"W-w-well…"

Kaida shook him furiously. "OUT WITH IT MAN!"

"I DON'T KNOW! IT WAS SOMEONE FROM INSIDE THE PRYONICS!"

Duo popped up next to him. "The person that sent you or the person that forced you to wear those socks?"

"Both. They're toe socks too! And SO comfortable!" The attacker said, suddenly unaware of the fuming teen who was still holding him by the shirt.

"Ok, you were lots of help," Kaida mumbled, dropping her preoccupied captive to the ground, he not noticing due to the fact he was discussing the brand of socks he liked most with our favorite braided pilot.

"OHMYGOD! OHMYFUCKINGOD! MY EYES! MY VIRGIN EYES!" the Pyronic turned, seeing her best friend, hands clapped over her eyes, plus a certain green eyed clown, who was in a similar situation.

"BURN IT! QUICK! BURN IT!" yelled Trowa, for once in his life scared shitless.

The magazine in front of them shriveled into embers almost instantly, the two horror-stricken teens relaxing and letting out a sigh of relief. "Never… we will never go digging in that soldier's pack again… no… never again…"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Duo stumbled his way through the tunnels until he found the sleeping quarters, were he discovered a mob of rabid fan girls attacking the one known as Heero Yuy. The Perfect Soldier was actually afraid, and Duo didn't blame him. He would be too.

"OMG YOU ARE SO HOT! AND YOU'RE THE PILOT OF WING ZERO?"

"BACK OFF, HE'S MINE! I SAW HIS PERFECT BODY FIRST!"

"DO YOU HAVE A GIRLFRIEND?"

"DO YOU? DO YOU? DO YOU?"

Their chants of "do you?" were broken by the Shinigami laughing. They all turned to glare at him, wondering what was so funny. "Oh, boy, does he! Ha ha!"

Their incisive gazes turned back to the pilot they were glomped to, hypnotizing stare only frightening their prey further.

"Duo… don't anger them…"

"She's smart, pretty, caring, and I guess you could say popular," Duo began counting off his fingers, causing Heero to pale considerably.

"…Duo…"

"WHO IS SHE!" the girls screamed furiously, faces twisted with such predictable scorn, the braided pilot had to keep from laughing.

"…not to mention she's funny and outgoing…"

Slowly the girls detached themselves from Heero, migrating towards the horrid Duo who claimed their precious Heero had something as despicable as a girlfriend.

"…Maxwell…"

It was too late. The stalkers had surrounded the boy, stealthily closing in for the kill.

"…and her name is pretty well-known too…"

They pounced.

"…Relena Darlian."

Everything seemed to stop. The fan girl's eyes widened as a blood curdling screech left their throats, falling to the ground in a dead faint.

Duo clapped his hands together, surveying his beautiful handicraft. "Well, now that that's out of the way…" and turned to a grinning Heba in the corner, who had been watching it all with Wufei. "Have you seen Kaida?"

The Pakistani's grin left her face, eyes dropping to the floor. "She went to the training hall. She's pretty much pissed that there's a mole in the gang."

"Ok thanks," Duo said, turning to leave.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

A dark blonde stepped from behind her curtain separator, letting it slide closed behind her. "At least, not alone."

The brunette raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"

"Let's put it this way… do you like Popeye's Chicken?"

"Yeah."

"Well you'll be put under the 'crisp' part of the menu." Her brown eyes revealed no humor, as Duo would have expected. It was the hard, cold truth. O crap. "She isn't one who likes to be undermined. And she doesn't have the mildest temperament in the gang, either."

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Red eyes glared ruthlessly at the air in front of her, slicing through an invisible opponent with her blade. The whistle of the katana fell upon deaf ears, mind working endlessly with the dilemma at hand.

_Someone is trying to eliminate us! If they had gotten us tonight, only Keahi and I, not to mention two of the legendary gundam pilots, would be rotting corpses in some dark alleyway! Unless… they're just after me…_ she clenched her blade tighter at the thought. _Dammit! What have I ever done wrong? _

_You brought Outsiders in…_ a voice, a very small voice, said in the back of her mind.

_No… they can be trusted! They haven't done anything to prove they're-_

_YOU BROUGHT THEM HERE! _it yelled, volume rising in her ears.

_No! They aren't bad! They wouldn't-_

_Haha! You really think that the infamous gundam pilots, who destroyed thousands, if not millions of lives, freed us from the Alliance AND Oz, not to mention single-handily preventing yet ANOTHER invasion, wouldn't turn us in? Naïve child, you can't see the truth! _The laughter echoed through her body, causing her to tense up every time another mocking syllable issued forth from the now roaring voice.

_No…_

_YES! YOU BROGHT THIS UPON YOURSELF! THIS IS YOUR FAULT! _

_No it's not…_

_YES! YES! HAHA! YES IT IS! YOU BROUGHT THE OUTSIDERS IN, YOU LET THEM ROAM AROUND, AND YOU GAVE THEM THE TOUR OF THE HIDEOUT! **THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT**!_

"NO IT'S NOT!" she jumped, the sword flashed lethally as the girl brought it down on her taunting enemy.

As she landed gracefully, she brought her katana to her eyes, inspecting the edge before letting it soar, burying it in the cement of the doorframe. Not even glancing up, she addressed the figure in the shadows. "I know you are there."

"Just as a good thief should," said Duo, emerging from the dark into the room.

"This whole thing is fucked up," she sneered, still not looking towards the braided pilot. She tramped past him, easily sliding the katana from its prison hold. Oddly, Duo noticed, the blade wasn't nicked or scratched.

"Oh, that? We experience that a lot."

Kaida mumbled something incoherent, but the boy decided it better not to ask.

"Why is there such thing as peace?"

The sudden question startled Duo, if not the semblance of serenity surrounding the Pyronic before him.

"Why is there such thing as war?" her voice wavered, fury causing her red eyes to squeeze shut. "WHY MUST WE FIGHT, STEAL, _KILL_ EVERYDAY, JUST TO LIVE THE TRANQUIL LIVES OTHERS DO!" flames sprouted from her feet as she paced to the other side of the room. "FIGHTING, STEALING, KILLING TO MAKE OUR LIVES 'PEACEFUL', EVEN WHEN FIGHTING, STEALING, AND KILLING ARE NOT CERTAINLY PEACEFUL THEMSELVES!"

"Because life is pointless. It's a cycle of endless turmoil. At least, that's what I used to think."

"AND WHAT DO YOU THINK NOW?" Kaida turned to face him, blazing crimson eyes burning into his own cobalt.

"I think you're supposed to live life day by day." He stepped towards her, mouth set in a grim line. "I think you are supposed to live in a world with no expectations. The turmoil's just for fun." He was suddenly in front of her, his eyes ever staring down into the rage-filled pits of hell. Slowly, her gaze softened, turning to a soft indigo.

She chuckled as the flames beneath her feet disappeared, resting her forehead on her friend's shoulder. "How is it that you can do that to me?"

"…I'm told a lot that I'm 'special'."

She laughed outright at this, relaxing as he brought his arms around her waist.

"You know, you're not really mad." He said gently giving her time to reply. Not that she needed it, that is.

"Yeah, I am. I'm so pissed off it's not even funny."

He brought his head down, his breathe tickling her ear. "No you're not. How do you feel right now?"

"…"

"Why do you think you're mad?" Kaida dropped her katana to the floor, ignoring the clatter as she wrapped her arms around Duo's torso, burying her face in his chest.

"…I'm scared."

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

From outside the doorway in the training hall, three figures watched this, grinning madly as they backed into the recesses of the tunnels. "I don't think we're needed here anymore."

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Keahi held the map against the wall, taking the thumbtacks from between her teeth and pinning it up. Ever since Kaida's decision to play "fire in the hole" in headquarters a few days before, she had been debating when would be a good time to set stuff back up again.

"Hey."

The dark blonde turned, acknowledging the newcomer with a smile. "Hey Trowa. I could use some help putting the maps up."

He shrugged. "Sure. Have you seen Duo or Kaida at all lately?" the brunette asked, picking up a map and tacks from the ground.

The question caused a sparkle in the Pyronic's eye. "Yup. Boy, have I."

The clown raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but dismissed it with the shake of his head. "I won't even ask." Keahi laughed.

"I don't blame ya, I wouldn't either."

She gathered the rolled chart in hand, grabbing a couple of tacks while she was down there. "Almost done. Then, I can show you the tape I recorded for blackmailing Heero. Too hilarious. I don't even see why girls hang all over him though…" She started back towards the wall, only noticing the floor pillow in front of her too late. The map and tacks fell to the ground, as Keahi prepared to hit the cold, hard cement and the shattering pain that followed.

But the pain never came.

She opened her eyes to find her partner holding her up, map hanging and tacks strewn upon the ground, forgotten in sheer seconds. She blinked a couple of times, sighing with relief when she realized she didn't have to have a meeting with the floor anytime soon. "Wow, thanks Tro-" she looked up, eyes catching his; her breathing slowed when she noticed mere inches separated their faces. Time seemed to stop as the two gazed at each other, never minding their awkward positions. It unfroze as Trowa slowly closed the gap.

He gently brought his lips down upon hers, caressing hers ever so lightly, drawing away brief moments after. She responded, not liking the loss of warmth, softly embracing his mouth in a tender kiss of her own. Keahi's entire spine tingled, far worse than earlier that night, forcing her to use all of her power to keep from shivering. Nothing prevented the butterflies in her stomach from flying around when the brunette subtly cupped her chin, kissing her back once more. Slowly, they slipped away, meeting each other's eyes. Chocolate locked onto emerald…

They suddenly sprang away from each other, eyes widened in surprise.

_Please don't tell me I just…_ Keahi glanced back at Trowa, who seemed to be in the same stunned position as she. _Oh my God… I did. Dammit, Keahi! This was not part of the plan. Kissing your best friend's childhood friend/ lost lover's friend is not part of the fucking plan!_

_I can't believe I just did that… that was completely out of line! Unless you consider kissing your friend's childhood friend/ lost lover's best friend is inside the god damn lines._ Trowa mentally kicked himself. Why did he have to have super reflexes? _Because I'm a gundam pilot and I would probably be dead right now if I didn't. Dammit._

"Oh, hey guys," Zach said, walking through the passageway. He looked up to two hormonal teenagers of opposite sexes a yard apart, eyes as wide as dinner plates and mouths slightly red. He quickly assessed the information, a wicked smile spreading across his face.

Keahi's eyes widened even more. "You wouldn't."

"Oh I would," the ice man replied, light grey eyes dancing with delight.

"…how much?" the dark blonde asked, regretting the question instantly after it left her lips.

The black haired teen tapped his chin thoughtfully, "Oh, I'd say, about seven bucks?"

Trowa instantly thrust the money at him, and the two quickly ran into the tunnels before the moocher could get anymore money out of them.

They walked quietly down the tunnel, not a word passing between them, only glancing until the other looked up, turning away instantly.

The Pyronic started. "As far as anyone's concerned, that never happened, deal?" She was determined not to wince, no matter the twinge she felt. It… _hurt._

Nodding in reply, Trowa felt a strange pang in his gut. He dismissed it instantly when Saki and Helen walked by, nodding a greeting to them as well.

It didn't hurt physically, and she wasn't even quite sure mentally. It just hurt. The thought of dismissing the kiss as nothing saddened her, and even that thought made her breath catch in her throat.

The two glanced at each other at the same time, instantly meeting each other's gaze and looking away. The kiss traveled through both of their minds as they slyly looked at each other unintentionally.

…_did I actually like it?_

**A/N: hey! I'm back! Sorry this one took so long. I hate high school. Anyway, that was kinda like my first fluff moment, ever, so I kinda need opinions. Really badly. So ya. I'll come out with the next one ASAP! I made another batch of 3x sugar snickerdoodles!**

**--DML**


	9. Pink Pants and Rainy Afternoons

**First off, I would like to apologize to sockpup. It was _extremely_ rude and inconsiderate of me. Please forgive. I was PMSing.**

**AM: I think that was I little more than they needed to know.**

**DML: They deserve a just explanation of why I was such a bitch. Please, if you find that offending, disregard that last statement.**

**Disclaimer: **

**DML: **

**(to tune of Oscar Mayer Weiner song) **

**Oh I wish I owned little black gundam! **

**That's what I really want to owwwn. **

**And if I said I owned a little gundam! **

**Everybody'd be suing me! **

**AngerManagement5292: …you disturb me**

**DML: . I disturb myself.**

**AM: Which should really tell you something. Point of this weird little song- she doesn't own anything except a pair of socks, a computer, and a pet rock she accidentally killed.**

**DML: (starts crying) He was such a good rock! Why did I give him a Jacuzzi in the blender! WHY! (breaks down and sobs)**

**AM: I'll be going now.**

**DML: YOU'RE SO SUPPORTIVE, NEKO-CHAN!**

**AM: I know. Isn't it great?**

**DML: Indeed. **

**Reviews!**

**Kitten-KC: here's that chapter you were waiting for! YA, we have our power back (thank god!) Enjoy!**

**LancerLead: thanks! That's pretty cool. I'm so happy though! I checked on your fav stories list, and DMwF was on there! I was practically crying! **

**Saki: here ya go. Hahaha. I know you've waited long and hard for this**

**Super Duck-chan: Thank you! It was my very first attempt . I love to read it, but never tried it. **

**Anon-chan: hey! Hahaha I suck at disses anyway. Just ask any of my friends. Either I say something completely stupid or I confuse them by spouting randomness. They laugh their asses off anyway.**

**Kurasgurl: tehehe! Here's your Duo fluff! Remember- I'm still new at this. MORE TO COME, THOUGH!**

**ATTENTION: MISSING REVIEWER. SECOND TIME KIDNAPPED. MUST FIND. GOES BY THE NAME OF GUNDAMGURL. _MUST FIND AT ALL COSTS!_ COME BACK! WE MISS YOU!**

…**and on with the story!**

**Don't Mess with Fire**

**Part 9**

Ah, the dawning of the new day. The birds are singing, the artificial sun is shining… and the sounds of a noisy Chinese man awoke the Pyronics to the agony of what we call "Mondays".

"MAXWELL! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!" Wufei yelled, fury evident in his eyes.

Duo waved his hands in front of him innocently, silently pleading with his friend to calm down. "I-it was an accident, Wu-man… heh heh…"

"ACCIDENT? ACCIDENT! THIS IS NO ACCIDENT! THIS IS INJUSTICE!" the boy screeched, holding up his pants. His once- white pants… that were now pink. Bright, hot, pink. Kaida and Keahi paled at the color, inadvertently shuddering.

"LISTEN! I took the clothes to the laundry place, put all the clothes in, put the money in the slot, and pushed the 'start' button," Duo reasoned, slowly backing away from the fuming pilot, hands still raised in a defensive position.

Heba looked at him questionably. "Aren't you supposed to separate the clothes?"

The braided pilot shrugged. "Dunno. I never did laundry before. I just followed the directions on the washing machine."

Quatre sat on the couch, light pink blouse slightly unbuttoned. "Can't be me… it's wrong color."

The brunette Pyronic raised an eyebrow. "Then who-"

"Hello everybody!"

They all turned to the speaker, eyes widening at the sight. Saki looked like a Barbie. Keahi ran over to her, shaking her friend around her shoulders. "DEAR GOD! WHO DID THIS TO YOU, WOMAN!"

The redhead wore a fuchsia halter top and white sweatpants, cleanliness surrounding her like a blinding light. Wufei stood frozen in place, his left eye unintentionally twitching.

The lead Pyronic coward in the corner, covering her eyes while shouting, "IT BURNS! IT BURNS!"

Saki smiled, looking down at her attire with pride. "You like it? Alyssa gave me the top, and I found the pants at the bottom of my clothes pile. You know, you see more and more people wearing pink these days…"

Trowa sleepily pushed away the curtain separator to glare at the noise makers. His eyes widened at the sight as he disappeared behind the curtains, letting them fall. "MY GOD!"

Keahi shuttered unwillingly, cringing at the sound of the half-asleep pilot scrambling to stand up again. _Even Tro was creeped out…_

Wufei looked down at his pants, eye still twitching. "Such… a feminine… color…"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Kaida, Duo, and Keahi lounged in the main room, the two brunettes talking, Keahi playing on a Gameboy she lifted off of some annoying 15 year old. Randomly, the lead Pyronic burst into hysterics, received a pleased look from Duo at his ability to tell jokes and an annoyed glare from her friend.

"Would you two get a room?" she grumbled, earning a returned glower from Kaida.

"Fuck off, Blondie," she said calmly.

"You fuck off! And I'm not even really a blonde!" Duo looked back and forth between the heated pair, noting the argument's rapidly growing intensity.

Kaida finally turned herself around, facing Keahi and standing up, growling, "Bring it on, asshole!"

Her friend, in turn, sets down her video game and stands up also. "It was brought five minutes ago!"

In rage, the brunette shot a steam of fire at her opponent, who returned the blast. The two flames collided, and shot up together towards the ceiling. Kaida and Keahi both walked underneath the giant scorch mark that now graced the top of the room, looking consecutively at the other similar singes.

Kaida hit her forehead with her hand, sighing as her friend leaned an elbow on her shoulder. "Not again…"

"We have quite a collection now

Trowa walked in, still quite tired, choosing to ignore the scene before him. "I won't even ask."

The self proclaimed God of Death looked from the pair to the pilot several times before blinking, stating slowly, "I'm not quite sure if I will either."

Kaida dragged Duo from the vicinity, mumbling something about grabbing lunch.

Silent moments that turned into silent minutes stretched between clown and Pyronic, each avoiding direct eye contact with the other.

"Um, uh- I- I gotta go…" Keahi managed to stutter.

"Ya, um, same." Yet they remained standing, neither daring to talk, let alone move, until a certain dragon swept between them, landing on the sofa that lay unoccupied, chirping in delight at the shiny object, which humans call a nickel, lodged between the cushions. Using its teeth and foreclaws, it flapped its paper-like wings uselessly, determined to own the "treasure".

Trowa glided past the Pyronic, lightly brushing her side and exposed arm. A warm chill, if there was such a thing, ran through the limb, spreading to the rest of her body.

The odd sensation was over just as quickly as it had begun, and Keahi proceeded to walk rapidly into the tunnels. As soon as she was out of eye and ear sight, she reveled in the strange impression that had once again overcome her. As an image of the third gundam pilot swam through her mind, she shook her head in an attempt to clear it. _…what's WRONG with me!_

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Kaida absent mindedly petted Hasaki, pencil flashing over the paper, letting her thoughts brew. _Yesterday was so embarrassing… dammit… why must I feel so defenseless? It's so useless. Such a useless emotion. Fear. _

"…_I'm scared. I'm scared." She felt Duo tighten his embrace, and she brought her head out of his chest, meeting his eyes._

_His eyes. Those cobalt blue eyes. They gazed down on her with such care, yet with such sorrow. _

_The pilot ran a hand through her hair, still holding her close, looking down into those clear blue eyes. "I know." The girl closed her eyes and buried her face into the folds of fabric covering her friend's chest. _

_The two stood like that for a few moments, Kaida finding comfort in Duo's embrace. She involuntarily sighed as he pulled away, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. _

"_Lighten up. Live life while ya can, right?" he titled up her chin with two fingers, causing a small smirk to form on the Pyronic's lips. _

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

_Stupid emotions… then again, they aren't all _that_ bad…_ Kaida thought of the shiver that ran through her spine at the touch of his lips upon her skin… she tingled at the thought of it.

She looked up to her friend, who was sitting on the couch. "Keahi, do you know where Trowa is? I haven't seen him all day."

"No. Why would I know where he is?" the dark blonde replied hurriedly, averting her eyes to a suddenly interesting corner of the room. The lead Pyronic noticed this, and, choosing not to question her, looked back down at her drawing.

"In that case, since you're not doing anything, can you look for him?"

Keahi sighed in frustration, standing up and making as much noise as possible as she left the room. She chuckled at the low growl that emitted from her friend's throat, thoroughly pleased that her objective had been achieved.

Her eyes clouded as her task came to mind. _Damn it… why couldn't it have been Quatre or China Boy who had to stay out all day? It's almost seven, and I don't even want to look for that boy for _at least_ another 24 hours! Well, maybe I do, but that's NOT the point… God, how am I supposed to find the man! _

She stomped out of the warehouse, kicking the door shut behind her. "Saki, I know you're following me with Joanna, so you can stop now."

The said two opened the door and walked through, not bothering to close it again. The short brunette next to the redhead shook her head as if to clear it, blinking her green-brown eyes in pain. "…You've got too many thoughts, Keahi. They're giving me a headache."

Keahi scoffed, looking away. "It's your fault you're a telepath, and not my problem."

Joanna rolled her eyes. "Ya, I just asked the idiot doctor to whisk me away from the streets and perform experiments on my brain."

The dark blonde looked down at the girl, annoyance in her eyes. "Just get out of my head, jackass, I have some searching to do."

"And I have an entire gang full of thieves to tell what happened in hq about, what was it, two nights ago?"

Keahi stopped. _She didn't… _

A grin swiped over the brunette's face. "Oh, I did. That particular memory file was… interesting to say the least."

Within moments the second-in-command had her by the collar, eyes burning. "You, _my friend_, will not tell ANYONE ANYTHING. _Understand?_" the blonde hissed, inches from the other's face. Before the shorter could answer, Saki pushed the two apart, looking at her superior, smirking slyly.

"She already has!"

Keahi's eyes widened as she nearly tore her hair out in frustration. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO TELL HER! WHY NOT ANYONE BUT HER!"

Joanna grinned again. She was having fun with this. "Because she is paying me twenty bucks… that is… unless you have a better offer?"

The blonde looked down. "I spent all my money shutting Zach up."

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"Trowa!"

The clown turned to see Catherine waving from the main tent. He walked over to assist her, not knowing what episode was about to befall him.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

_Every action has a consequence. I follow her. She interrogates me. I don't answer. She throws me in a cage. Oh, what fun. _The lion rumbled its displeasure at its interrupted nap, and Trowa rubbed his ears affectionately. "Sorry."

The cat looked him in the eyes, amber orbs meeting his own emerald. _God… why do his eyes remind me of _hers_? Oh shit not again…_

The lion chose this opportune moment to tackle the clown playfully, licking his face. Trowa allowed himself a small smile, glad to revert his mind to less stressing topics. _Stressing? I've fought through two wars, practically hand the world's fate in my hands, and battled my crazed best friend who was determined to kill me, but I find this girl, this single person, so stressing? What in hell's name have I been reduced too?_

Suddenly, out of the darkness, the beam of a flashlight shone at his face, momentarily blinding him as he heard light footsteps approaching his prison. It didn't take him long to discover who it was.

"Catherine, how long will you keep me captive?" he asked, pulling himself, as best he could, from underneath the massive feline.

She grinned. "Until you answer my questions." The light angled above his head now, shining down upon his chestnut hair. "Now. Who exactly is this girl, Keahi? She seems nice enough, and I know all your friend's…um… _professions,_ but I am a bit wary of her."

"Why are you questioning me?"

She giggled, ruining the effect. "This is fun."

_I bet it is._ The clown held in head in his hands.

"What? I'm an older sister. You expect me _not_ to be over protective?"

"Don't worry. She hasn't blown up colonies or anything." Trowa leaned against the cat, closing his eyes. "She's only a thief."

"I see," Cathy bent down, staring intently at his closed eyes. After a few moments, the boy broke the silence.

"You staring at me is not going to make be open up my eyes any sooner, you know that?"

"Come on! I can tell you care for her! Tell me! Pleeease!" she begged, eager to get in on the juicy gossip.

Emerald eyes shot open. "What!" for one of the first times, Catherine had surprised Trowa with her bluntness.

"Oh come on! It's so obvious!" she implored, resting her back against the metal bars. The flashlight lay forgotten by her side, to which the clown was thankful. Covered in the cloak of darkness, he could feel his face burning.

"I have no iota what you are talking about."

The acrobat sighed, turning to her adoptive brother's face that was still hidden in the shadows. "Think what you will." She stood to leave, dropping something through the bars. The clank of metal meeting metal echoed in his ears as Trowa bent to pick up the object. "Just be sure to lock up when you're done. G'night, Trowa."

He nodded, slipping the key into his pocket. Tension released him from its grasp as he heard his sister's heels on the floor, walking back towards her trailer and horrible cooking.

_Do I really feel that way?_

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"So that's what happened. Just that." Keahi nodded, staring intently at the floor in front of her, knowing she was blushing from the heat she felt in her cheeks. Saki and Joanna had dragged her around the warehouse, pestering her with questions, the ever looming threat of the mishap in the headquarters fueling her to answer.

Saki stood up, hands on hips. "That's it! My God, woman, do you have any IDEA what you could have done!"

The short brunette and blonde jumped at her exclamation, but eased when they saw the stars in their friend's eyes.

"How cool! I never imagined you would be first, Keahi, but then again, the guys are changing EVERYthing! I mean, first you and Clowny, and then Kaida and Braid-boy! I never imagined this!"

Keahi started. "W-what!"

Saki blinked. "I though it was pretty obvious. I mean, come on, childhood friend returns after eleven years, he's a ladies' man, hot, and has KILLER friends. Think about it! This is a freakin' STORY! It's just destined to happen"

Joanna's eyes were wide. "Wow… you're right…"

The dark blonde stood up, eyes covered by her long bangs. "I'm going to find Trowa now."

"It's too late, and it'll get cold," warned the telepath from her spot on the ground. "You don't have your jacket."

"I don't care," mumbled the retreating back of the fire Pyronic.

"'Stewing in her thoughts'. Ha. What a weird saying," the redhead murmured to no one in particular.

"Ya…" Joanna closed her eyes, focusing on Keahi's thoughts. She gasped as she hit a wall. _She's blocked me… this ought to get interesting. _

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Duo tapped lightly on the brunette's head, shaking her out of her sleep. Kaida drowsily opened her eyes, which eventually focused on the face smiling down upon her. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, forming a small smile herself.

"Hey…" the Pyronic stretched slightly. "What's up?"

"Well, since everyone else's flown the coop, I thought we could… go eat?" the pilot asked, nervously averting his eyes and rubbing the back of his head.

Kaida beamed up at him, gingerly sitting up from her stiff position on the table, looking down at her partially finished drawing. Sighing, she gathered up the papers, walking past Duo towards her sleeping area. As she passed, the pilot reached down and swiped a sheet from her grasp.

"Give it back!" Duo turned his back to her, gazing down upon the picture with his cobalt orbs. His breath caught in his throat, and Kaida's screams fell upon deaf ears.

It was Keahi and Trowa, talking as they walked through the network of tunnels. The pilot had an odd look in his eyes, one that was very uncharacteristic of him, and his mouth was turned up in a smile. The dark blonde was laughing, eyes squeezed closed as tears of hilarity streamed down her cheeks.

"H-how did you…" The Pyronic snatched the sketch from his fingers, smirk dancing upon her lips.

"I have photographic memory. I might have trouble listening, but I never forgot a picture. I saw them like this about three days ago when I was going to find Heba. I couldn't resist," she finished with a wink. "As for dinner… why not." She pulled her curtains shut, leaving Duo to his own antics.

He did a cartwheel as walked towards the couch, Hasaki clinging to his braid, thrilling its delight as it swung back and forth.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

_Dammit you idiot… letting her access your memory bank like that… _Keahi treaded through the streets, looking up as water hit her head. _Great… they just had choose today to make it rain. _As fat drops fell around her, pelting the ground and unlucky citizens, she instantly regretted leaving her jacket behind. _Shit… Trowa where are you!_

A car drove past, crashing through a puddle and soaking her to the skin. Her mouth hung open as the driver refused to stop. "The mother fuc-" another car ran through the puddle, splashing her once more. "What's the use."

She continued to walk, receiving a few wolf calls and whistles from teenage boys who turned out to see girls' clothes stick to their skin, delivering a few birds. Her hair clung to her neck, making her shiver all the more. An ache ran through her head, averting her mind back to the situation at hand. _I've got to keep moving… I need to keep warm…_

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Trowa strode amongst the rain drops, thoroughly thankful Catherine had insisted he wear his trench coat. Although the dank and cold day continued, he was warm in his coat, as the rain simply slid off it.

He shuffled through the faceless crowd, a lone fish swimming in a sea of umbrellas. The bright colors seemed black and white, as he walked alone, undisturbed, through the crowd. Black and white, white and black, chocolate brown… wait. Trowa stopped. Emerald met deep brown; deep brown that contained a dimmed ember, cold and sad. "Keahi…"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Keahi stopped. No way. Before her, in the flesh, stood her charge. She looked up, shivering, meeting his green eyes. _Finally…_

"Keahi…" he murmured, brushing a clump of wet hair from her face.

The crowd flowed around them, not giving a second glance towards the two teens who had blocked out the rest of the world anyway.

Quickly Trowa observed her drenched state, and, taking off his trench coat and putting it around her shoulders, steered her towards the nearest covered alley. Keahi's dark blonde hair ran brown, water dripping steadily from its soaked ends.

"What were you doing out there? And without a jacket too! Are you _trying_ to get pneumonia?" chided the pilot softly, still holding her shoulders.

The Pyronic chuckled lightly, only to be turned into a cough. "I was looking for you. Don't worry, I don't get sick often." She reveled in the warmth of the coat, gladly noticing it reaching to her knees. A hard cough shook her again, but this time she felt strong arms encircling her body, pulling her into a warm chest. She accepted the extra heat source willingly, snuggling closer into the pilot's torso.

"I guess this is one of those times, huh?" Trowa smiled as he buried his nose into her hair. _She smells so good…_ "Why weren't you wearing your jacket?"

"Because I'm an idiot," she numbly replied. She tingled when he lowered his head, brushing her forehead with his lips.

"No you're not," he stated simply, causing her to look up. As their eyes met, Trowa hesitantly leaned forward. Keahi's eyes closed. Inches from each other, the pilot faltered. But the girl had waited long enough. She bridged the gap, lips covering his.

The boy, nonetheless, was surprised, but closed his eyes too, savoring the sweet kiss he had longed for. Trowa kissed back, bringing a hand up and cupping her cheek.

The colony surged on around them, not noticing the couple intertwined in the alleyway, nor caring. Not that the couple did either.

Keahi brought her arms around his neck, as his other arm wrapped around her waist, deepening the kiss. Reluctantly, the two drew apart, catching life-giving breath.

The Pyronic kissed the corner of his mouth, reaching up to whisper in his ear. "I'm warm now."

Trowa laughed, a melodious sound. Hugging her to him even tighter, he picked her up and spun her around. He finally set her down, but did not loosen his hold upon her. She beamed up at him. "I like it when you laugh. You should do it more often."

He smiled down at her, touching his nose to her own. "Only for you." He leaned down and caught her lips again, tingling when she began to play with the strands of hair on the back of his neck.

Keahi felt his shiver and smiled into the kiss.

Trowa pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers, grinning insanely. He slowly opened his emerald orbs and looked at her, meeting her laughing eyes. "I hope you realize that now you'll never get rid of me."

"Would I want to?" she asked, smiling.

"Would you?"

"It depends… would I get more of these?" the pilot laughed again, filling the air with his baritone mirth.

"A hell of a lot more of these, K." he brushed his lips against hers again, pulling her towards him.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Two brunettes walked through the colony, Duo donning his baseball cap when it begun to rain, Kaida the hood of her sweatshirt. They didn't mind the downpour, laughing as people rushed to and fro, attempting to keep dry.

The pilot looked down at the girl beside him, eyes sparkling with pride. That little girl, who he had thought lost long ago, walked beside him, alive and well. Striding in time with him, keeping his long pace, her confidence shone through her every action; she held her head high, body relaxed, shoulders back… the Pyronic looked at him.

"What's up?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh. Nothing!" Duo replied, realizing he had been staring. "So, where ya want to eat?"

She shrugged. "There's a Japanese restaurant close by. Has the best red dragon rolls on the colony, good fried rice, too."

The Shinigami smiled. "Sure, why not?" he ruffled his companion's hair, the rain having since stopped. "Besides, it's just you and me tonight. We can go anywhere!" he yelled, throwing his arms up in the air.

"How 'bout to Texas?" Kaida asked, beaming back up at him. He sweatdropped.

"Uh, no. I think that's a bit too far."

They passed by an alleyway, only to have Duo double back and peak into the area between the buildings. The girl raised an eyebrow. "Duo, what are you-"

"Shh!" he said, clamping his hand over her mouth. Slowly, she looked into the alley, snickering at what she saw.

Keahi and a certain clown stood under the eaves, slowly kissing, unaware of their audience. Trowa's trench coat lay forgotten on the ground beneath the Pyronic, kicked slightly to the side by a stray foot.

"I guess she found him," The brunette chuckled, leaning up against the pilot's chest, attempting to withhold the laughter that was bubbling up inside her.

Slowly, the spying pair slunk away, sliding back into the crowded streets.

Eventually, the pair reached the sushi bar, entering under a sign, which blinked the word, "Tsuribari" in neon lights. As they entered, the little bell above the door rang, bringing the chefs' and waitress' attention to the entryway. A loud cheer boomed out at the sight of the young thief.

A plump, red-faced Japanese man, whom Duo assumed was the head chef, welcomed the two warmly. "Ah! Dragon Girl! Long time no see! And I see you've brought a friend!" The Pyronic hit his arm playfully.

"Don't call me that! Kaemon, this is Duo, Duo, Kaemon." She introduced, waving between them informally.

"Hahaha! Good to meet you! Any friend of Kaida and Keahi are a friend of mine! Come sit! Come sit!" he said, beckoning them over towards the bar, where waitresses brought the couple warm towels to clean their hands with.

A girl around their age leaped over to the bar, nearly tackling Kaida out of her chair. After the brunette produced a small squeak in protest, she let go of her head lock on the gang leader, who began to take rasping breaths.

The black hair that was cut close to her head was spiked rebelliously, ending in golden tips. Her brown eyes laughed as they gazed down at her friend, who had regained her composer and punched her lightly in the shoulder. "Burks! 'Sup! Damn I haven't seen you a while."

She laughed, pulling out a notepad and pen. "Just the same old same old. Oh, you should have been here the other day, when Justin lit the hibachi table on fire. He singed off his eyebrows!" the pair erupted in laughter. "Anyway, who's this?" she said, pointing her thumb at the utterly confused pilot.

"Oh, that's Duo. Duo, this is Allie. Everybody calls her Burks, though." Duo smiled his greeting, receiving a grin in return.

"Never seen you around here before. And usually everyone comes in her at one point of another. Oh well. Want the usual?" Burks asked, turning to the Pyronic. After getting a nod in return, she scribbled onto her pad and looked back to the braided pilot. "And you?"

"Dragon roll and edomome, with iced tea, babe," he said with a wink. The waitress laughed and picked up the clothes, walking back to the kitchen.

"I'll be back in a sec with your drinks."

She was back in a flash, occupied the chair next to Kaida that was previously empty. "So, how's the business goin'?"

The brunette sighed. "It's not a business, Burks. It's the only way we can live! But things are going pretty smoothly now that Duo and the guys have come. Everyone's lightened up."

"There's more of them!" Burks asked, eyes wide. She immediately relaxed again, sighing. "Oh well. They can't be as good as Benji."

"Who?" The boy asked, somewhat startled at the girl's mood changes.

"Her boyfriend," Kaida said, taking a sip from her Dr. Pepper.

"Holy shit… sorry, I've got to go. Soccer practice starts in the new fields over on the other side of town and I still got to change. It starts in five," The girl mumbled, standing up and turning to walk out the door, smacking the thief playfully on the back. "See ya, K. Nice to meet ya, Duo." She ran out the door, flinging her apron onto the hook before leaving.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

The rest of the night proceeded well, as Kaemon warmed up to Duo quickly after the former let him be a taste tester.

Kaida and the pilot walked back towards the headquarters, well aware of, but not caring about, the late hour. They dwindled in one of the parks, overhearing what must have been Burk's practice. The pair eventually stopped in a wide space, looking up towards the darkened ceiling of the colony.

"I wish we were looking up at stars instead of the metal plates," murmured the girl softly, leaning against the God of Death's shoulder.

"It doesn't really matter to me," Duo said, gazing down at her, "I've got something better to look at."

She laughed. "That's got to be one of the corniest pick-up lines I have ever heard."

The pilot smiled, shrugging. "Just thought I'd give it a try. Works in the movies, ya know?"

The brunette's eyes were met by those of his cohort, cobalt holding the sapphire. The pair seemed frozen, ignoring the detail that their faces were inches apart. Before he could help himself, he felt in lips upon hers, eyes closing involuntarily.

_Dammit… why'd I just do that! JACKASS! What if she doesn't-_ His thoughts were silenced as he felt her kissing back lightly. She pulled away, slowly opening her eyes. Duo smirked. "Little Dragon has grown up, it seems."

She laughed, beaming up at her companion. She rested his head on his firm chest, inhaling his sweet scent. "More than you know." Kaida reopened her eyes, when she felt strong arms encircle her, drawing her into the pilot's intoxicating aroma.

Resting her hands on his chest, she looked up into gentle orbs of blue veiled under chestnut bangs. A thrill went up her spine as he leaned closer, gently brushing his lips against hers once more.

They stood alone in the clearing, intertwined in each other's thoughts, clinging to what they felt was a hidden piece of what they called "home".

**A/N: damn that was a bitch to make! Sorry to make you guys wait so long. Soccer try-outs started yesterday, when I was _going_ to update, so HAPPY BELATED HALLOWEEN! I'll try to update ASAP, _but_ we all know how long that will take. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**--DML **


	10. Dreams and the Thanksgiving Ghost

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing…(insert funny comment here)**

**Reviews**

**Kitten-KC: sorry I couldn't get this out before you left. I was planning too, but then got an author's worst enemy… writer's block. I hate those things. Anyway, glad to see you enjoyed last chapter. I was just trying to get things kicked off with the four of them, and I was thinkin' "Hey. Why not just do it all in one chapter? I can give my readers a FLUFF FEST!" anyway, I hope you had a fun time in Mexico and liked what you saw when you flew over American territory (wink)**

**Lilviscious: love the name. Anyway, I'm glad you liked last chapter… let's see how the G-boys and the Pyronics fare in this one!**

**NoahBluze: haha I'm glad I could bring a little entertainment into your life. It always makes we feel happy when I meet a new reviewer, so welcome to the family! I have a cat myself, which does NOT like to eat paper lol. (sigh) unfortunately, I _do_ have a little brother who just turned five on the twelfth. I'll try to read what I can and post it here, as it is difficult to identify beneath the crayon, maker, and smiley-face stamps covering the recipe. Thanks for reviewing!**

**ALERT: MUST FIND GUNDAMGURL AT ALL COSTS. DEPLOYMENT OF AIR, SEA AND LAND TROOPS WILL BE IN EFFECT IMMEDIATELY. IF YOU HAVE HER HOSTAGE, I INSIST YOU RELEASE HER WITHOUT DELAY, ELSE THE SATALLITE CANON IN SPACE WILL SHOOT YOU DOWN WITHOUT HESITATION. IT WILL SHOOT SNICKERDOODLES IF I PRESS THIS REMOTE THAT LAY IN MY HAND AT THIS MOMENT. DO NOT CONSIDER THIS A BLUFF. (narrows eyes) I do not bluff.**

**I, personally, would like to dedicate this chapter to my best friend, Neko-chan, otherwise known as AngerManagement5252 to you, my readers. I would have never written so much without your encouragement, never gotten into the double digits! One Zero! Now, those threats bring such tears to my eyes… either because you carried out with them or they just 'inspired' me to write some more. Whether it was a narrowing of the eyes and, "Skye, you're scaring me. Stop it now or DIE" or a smile with a, "You had better come out with another one soon, or at least tell me what's going to HAPPEN, or else you're not going to get another chapter of mine to edit" it always pushed me to the next chapter, in DMwF, mentally, and emotionally. I would have never gotten so far along without you. Arigatou, Neko-chan. Arigatou, tomodachi. **

**--Ookami-chan**

**AND ON WITH THE BIG ONE-O! DOUBLE-DIGITS, BABY!**

**Don't Mess with Fire **

**Part 10**

Keahi glanced tiredly at the clock against the wall, leaning back onto the gundam pilot's firm chest. He smirked at her sleepiness, pulling her closer to him.

_Three days since…_ Trowa rested his chin on her shoulder, allowing his breath to tickle her ear. _It's been three days since I've come out of the dark, and into the firelight. _The couple's meeting in the alleyway ran through his mind, making him tingle at the memory of her lips touching his.

"4:25 AM. You win," murmured the Pyronic, stifling a yawn as it crept its way through her lips. "I can't stand to stay awake any longer. I've been running around the colony all day. _I **must** have **sleep**_…" she droned groggily, her heavy eyes falling closed. She faintly smiled as her companion whispered in her ear.

"Sleep. You don't need to stay up because of me."

"No, no, I'm fine. I just need… to rest my… eyes… a sec…" the dark blonde fell into slumber, snuggling closer to the clown, smiling subconsciously as his arms tightened around her waist.

Trowa's eyes softened as he heard her deep breaths, ensuring her rest. Her usually sarcastic brown eyes lay closed, her soft mouth curved into a grin. _She's so peaceful when she's asleep… _he took a deep breath himself, allowing her spicy aroma to fill his mind.

Closing his eyes, he reflected on the past evening. _Too close, my dear friend. Way too close…_

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"_HA! I laugh. I can too stay up till five! I do it all the time!" Keahi boasted, stuffing her hands in her pockets while grinning at the pilot beside her. Cars and people hurried by, workers attempting to make the most of their lunch break. The colony rushed around them, taking not the least bit of interest to the gundam pilot and Pyronic that walked in their midst. _

"_Oh? I was under the impression that your sleep meant more to you than I did," he replied, emerald eyes staring ahead. The Pyronic punched him playfully in the shoulder._

"_It does not. Although, I _can_ make you do the Mexican Hat Dance in my dreams…"_

_He smirked. "As long as it's not a strip tease, I'm fine with that." The two entered a sushi bar, and a rotund man came to greet them. _

"_Ah! Fire breather! Been a bit 'hot headed' lately?" The old man laughed at his joke, pulling the two guests inside. "Dragon Girl and her friend came in two, wait, let me think… yes, two nights ago! He eats a lot. He'll be a strong man when he grows up."_

_Trowa raised an eyebrow. "I assume you mean Duo."_

_The man nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes! I do believe that was his name! Fine lad, fine lad…"_

_Keahi cleared her throat. "Um, Kaemon, this is Trowa. Trowa, Kaemon. Kaemon's always supported us Pyronics, giving us food when needed, etcetera." She turned back to the man. "Kae, has Burks been in?" _

_He shook his head with a frown. "Nay, she hasn't. Nor will she. She caught herself a death of a cold couple nights 'go. Stayed out playing that 'soccer' sport, bouncin' around in the park after practice. She's upstairs in her room, tuckered out. She's been wantin' to visit you gals under ground but is too feverish. I'm not lettin' her out of bed 'til the sickness' well past. Why don't you go you and visit her? Introduce her to your friend here," he suggested, nodding his head towards the green-eyed youth. "It'd make her feel better." _

"_Why not. Come on Tro," the dark blonde said, practically pulled her boyfriend to the stairs. "No need to be shy! Burks doesn't bite."_

"_One, I'm not shy, I just want to walk a little slower. Two, she wouldn't bite unless she was a dog, in which case I don't believe she'd be playing soccer."_

"_Sheesh. You're just a smartass, you know that?"_

_Trowa leaned over, lips brushing her ear. "Well, I though maybe two could play that game."_

_She chuckled to herself. "You're pretty hot for a smartass, you know that? You're like a toy figure with action phrases."_

"_The name's Barton. Trowa Barton."_

"_See what I mean? You're the perfect hero hunk."_

"_I wouldn't exactly call you the damsel in distress."_

"_I'm more of the spunky side-kick type of girl," she winked. "Ah! Here we are!" Keahi flung open the door. "Burks, I demand a reason why you got a cold. You have play-offs next week."_

_Trowa entered to see a girl their age laying in bed, short black hair spiked messily, the yellow ends poking out everywhere. A trashcan and box of Kleenex lay close at-hand, a CD player and headphones in her lap. _

"_Hey, Keahi, sup!" they bumped knuckles, and the bed-ridden girl looked to Trowa, who still stood in the doorway. "Who's Mr. Hot-n-Silent over there?"_

_The pilot walked up, placed a charming smile on his face that would make any girl, or gay guy, swoon. "The name's Barton. Trowa Barton."_

_Keahi punched him in the arm, scowling at him. "Would you quit that!" Burks tugged on the Pyronic's shirt, drawing her attention away from her boyfriend. "Oh yeah, right. Anyway, why were you messin' around in the park after practice was over? It seems downright idiotic to me." She sat on the edge of the bed, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. _

_The waitress smiled. "Oh, don't worry… I had my reasons." And at the confused look sent by her friend, she continued, running a hand through her short hair. "I was walking back through the park, since it's a shortcut, you know? Anyway, when I passed Freedman's Field, I noticed a couple standing out in the center. So, being the stealthy person I am, snuck over there, hoping to get a glimpse of some fluff. But when I got there, I fall backwards in surprise, and into a puddle, thus making me cold, tired, wet, and sweaty, and enabling me to catch this cold." She paused, noticing how Keahi was looking at her intently, nearly jumping on top the bedridden girl for more information. "…and that was about it."_

_The fire Pyronic leapt to her feet, pointing an accusing finger at her friend. "NO IT'S NOT! LIAR!"_

"_Hahaha, I did that just to see your expression! Anyway, I saw a certain Pyronic with a certain person I had met earlier that night…" she trailed off, "…Duo and Kaida." The smirk on her face widened at the couple's expressions._

"_Yes… finally some good blackmail! Bwahahahaha!" Keahi said, silently scheming how to present the information to the gang leader._

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

The blonde shifted in her sleep, borrowing her face deeper into Trowa's chest. He smiled, brushing a strand of hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. He'd been smiling more and more lately._ It must be her,_ he reasoned, running a hand though her deep blonde tresses. _There's no other explanation._

Keahi stirred again. "Trowa…" she murmured in her sleep. The clown blinked in surprise, but remained caressing her head. Slowly, his eyes began to fall, his hand leisurely continuing to stroke her locks, until falling still, the pilot asleep.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

_Keahi opened her eyes, the heavy lids tempting her to fall back into her previous sleep. Bright lights boar into her eyes, causing her to squeeze her dark brown orbs once again. _

_Attempting to herself up, she hissed, pain streaking through every bone and muscle in her body. "Dammit…" She opened her eyes, gaping at the scene that unfolded around her. _

_Rubble and bodies were strewn about her, the tunnels caved in, allowing the bright lights of the colony to glare down upon her broken body. _

_Frantically, she cast about her, looking for a familiar face, silently praying the person wasn't amid the casualties. Ignoring the pain that shot through her body, she stumbled to her feet, pressing herself into a run among the dead and dying. _

Don't be here, don't be here, don't be here…_ the words repeated endlessly in her mind, eyes searching wildly for the one who had held her with such care, such tenderness for the past two months. _Please, dear God, let him be anywhere but here… _Something caught her eye, causing her to skid to a stop. "No…" she gasped, before running to the side of the lifeless body._

_Falling to her knees beside him, she touched his still face, running a hand through his brown hair. _Please don't be…_ the pilot shifted under her soft touch, eyelids fluttering open to reveal emerald eyes. Moving his head to the side, he caught the girl's brown orbs. _

"_Keahi-" he was shushed by a finger on his mouth, its owner's head bowed, bangs covering her eyes._

_When she looked up, the pilot immediately made out a tear running silently down her face. He reached up and wiped it away. "Keahi…"_

"_Trowa…" She couldn't hold it in any longer. The dark blonde leaned down and caught his lips in a gentle kiss. As she began to draw away, the clown reached up and caught the back of her neck, pulling her down once more. _

_They broke the embrace moments later, gasping lightly. Another tear rolled down Keahi's cheek, splashing onto Trowa's dark green shirt, which was once new and whole, but was now torn and bloody. _

_The brunette sat up, pulling the Pyronic into his lap. Holding her against him tightly, his breath tickled her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "Don't cry. It's over. It's over," he soothed, pressing his cheek against hers. "They're gone. It's over." _

_The girl pressed herself further into his embrace, her tears ceasing. "It doesn't seem like we won," she voiced, glancing at her former gang-mates around her. Those people who had willingly given up their life to fight for their friends', gladly excepting death with the satisfaction it was through the right matter. She shut her eyes again, burning those people's faces into her mind. _Never forget…

"_In war, there are no winners." _

_The two reveled in each other's presence, holding onto what they deemed hope. Nothing disturbed them as they clung to their partner mourning the loss of the past and the promise of the future._

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Keahi's eyes snapped open, looking around to find herself in her boyfriend's arms. She smiled as she listened to his deep breaths, head resting on her shoulder.

_It was just a dream._ Closing her eyes, she settled back into her previous position, shrouded in Trowa's intoxicating scent. Soon sleeping again in his arms, the girl drifted to a place more pleasant than the last.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Kaida yawned, pulling back the curtains to reveal, what she considered, the most adorable thing she had ever seen.

Trowa and Keahi lazed in each others arms, somehow over the night shifting to a lying position on the couch, the dark blonde's head against the pilot's chest, his chin resting upon the top of her head.

Chuckling to herself, she left the two alone, withdrawing back into her room to change into her usual red wrap-around and black cargoes. Exiting the sleeping quarters, she greeted a few early-risers on her way to the practice hall. Noticing she was not alone, she slipped through the entryway and proceeded to the far wall, pausing at the rack with the weapons.

Drawing her katana, she joined the pilot who had taken up taken up training for the morning. "Yo China, didn't know you got up this early to play with sharp things," she smirked, beginning her exercises.

He scowled, keeping his eyes forward. "Shut up, woman. I do this every morning."

"So how're you and Heba going?"

At this Wufei froze, turning to raise an eyebrow at the brunette. "…what are you implying?"

Kaida sliced the air in front of her, grinning to herself. "Oh, nothing. I just though you two had something goin' there," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "…Know what I mean?"

Blushing profusely, the Chinese boy continued his stances, averting her eyes. "N-no."

The Pyronic laughed and winked at the flushed pilot. "Oh, well. Must've been mistaken!"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Four shadows crouched in an alleyway, patiently waiting for the shopkeeper to lock up for the night. As the lights above the store flashed off, the shadows fanned out and began their work.

The one with the braid withdrew a pick from his pocket, making quick work of the crappy lock. Without opening the door, he stepped back, allowing another to take his place.

The one overlooking the project nodded. "Fry the systems, Saki."

The redhead giggled. "Aye, aye, captain!" Placing a hand on the wall near the doorframe, she sent a bolt of electricity into the building, automatically shutting down the security systems.

Keahi opened the door, signaling the others to run in. Kaida took the lead, silently searching the shelves for the item in question. As the remainder of the group looked throughout the shop, Keahi looked through a stack of videogames in the corner. "Might as well, seeing they're just lying there…" a small noise caught her attention, as well as the breath in her throat when she saw the origin.

A young girl, around the age of four, stood yawning by the open door leading to the living area. Rubbing her eyes, she looked up at the four thieves. "W-who are you?"

Before the blonde could say anything, Duo popped up in front of girl, smiling kindly. "I am the Thanksgiving Ghost, and these are the Three Ghoulettes! We come around in November to make sure everything is tip-top for the festivities!"

Blinking cutely, she smiled back up at the pilot. "Really? 'ow come I never saw you before?" she asked, not pronouncing the "h"s correctly. She hugged her teddy bear tighter, her green eyes sparkling beneath her brown hair. "Do you know _everyting?_ Like Santa and the Easter Bunny?"

Duo nodded, still smiling, thoroughly satisfied with his gullible audience. "Absolutely everything!"

"What's my name?" the girl asked eagerly. By this time, Kaida and Saki had stopped their hunt and watched in amusement. They chuckled at the question, earning an annoyed glare from the braided man.

"Marcella, of course!" he replied, ruffling her hair. Staring in awe at the teen, her green eyes reflected surprise.

"Wow, you're good!" she yawned again, and turned to go back through the door. "Goodbye, Mr. Ghost! Come by anytime! It was fun playing wit you!"

As she closed the door, Kaida knelt beside the still smiling Duo, a grin tugging at her own lips. "So, Mr. Ghost, how did you know her name?"

"It was on the foot of the bear."

"Here it is!" Keahi and Saki exclaimed, holding up their new-found treasures.

"Keahi, why are you taking a videogame?"

"Because it's Soul Caliber 3! I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FORVER!" she said, raising the box above her head, silently praising it and all its beauty.

"…but we only have a Nintendo down at home, not a PS2."

The dark blonde turned to her friend with a smirk. "We'll just have to fix that, now won't we?"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

The shopkeeper and his wife awoke to the sound of their daughter climbing the stairs, dragging what sounded like Bobby the Teddybear.

"Honey, what are you doing up?" the mother asked, hugging Marcella.

"I was talking to the Tanksgiving Ghost and the Tree Ghoolettes!" she said cutely, stifling a yawn. "Very good ghosties. Very, very good."

"There's no such thing as ghosts, dear," the woman said soothingly.

Marcella grew angry at this, pointing back down the stairway. "There is! They were just downstairs, making sure everything in the shop was good! One of the Ghoolettes was even checking the games!"

"Marcy! There is no one on the first floor! Now take Bobby and go up to bed! You have school tomorrow!" she said with a frown, pointing down the hallway towards the girl's room.

"Yes, Mama. Nighty-night." The small brunette walked back into her room, closing the door quietly behind her. _They are real, Mama. You're not always right._

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

Just to settle the anxiety that was gnawing away at her, the shopkeeper's wife crept to the below floor. As she entered, she noticed two things. The heirloom phoenix statue was gone, and the security system was down. Testing the outside door, she discovered it unlocked. Calmly putting two and two together, she took a deep breath. "JAY! CALL THE POLICE! THE PYRONICS WERE HERE!"

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

"Aw, shit. The fuzz is after us already!" Kaida frowned, quickening her pace. Her friend sweatdropped.

"That's from the '60s, K," Keahi said, shaking her head.

"So? Hippies are cool."

"So you want to smoke pot and sing peace songs 24/7? Fine by me. Kill your lungs. It's not as if I care."

"On second thought, no. I just like their lingo."

The police gained on the small group, inch by inch. That is, until…

"LALALA! I'M GRAFFITYING THIS WALL! HELLO MR. POLICEMEN! LOVELY NIGHT FOR VANDALISM, IS IT NOT?"

Keahi gaped. "Burks! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!"

The girl laughed, returning to her "masterpiece". "Buyin' you time! Now hurry up, I can't these mother fuckers distracted forever. This paint can's runnin' out…"

The Pyronics laughed, taking off down the street as the police watched Burks do a replica of Picasso's "Portait de Dora Maar" on a convenience store's wall. Too in awe to do anything, they watched after the girl left, not noticing the artist gone until at least five minutes after her departure.

**DMLDMLDMLDMLDML**

After the others had gone to bed, Kaida walked along the tunnels, rubbing an affectionate Hasaki's head. _After we got back, Duo didn't really talk to anyone… I wonder what the matter is; usually he's not like that. I'll just ask him tomorrow, there's no point in waking him just to ask him. That'd just be stupid…_

She turned the corner, only to find herself face-to-face with a squad of Leos. _Oh shit._ Attention pointed the other way, the pilots of the mobile suits did not notice the fire Pyronic, who took off running back to the sleeping quarters. _So it's started…_ the dream from the previous night flashed through her mind, haunting images plaguing her thoughts. _It's finally started. The war has began…_

_On guard, bastards. _

**A/N: sorry for the wait, guys. I was hoping on getting this out sooner, but then I remembered by brother's birthday, which took up like two days, yadda yadda yadda. This chapter was a bit short, but I thought it served its purpose well. PREPARE FOR ACTION! Have a happy Thanksgiving, all you Americans, and for Kitten-KC, my faithful Canadian reader, I hope you enjoyed yours. My calendar said it was on October 10th. Anyway, my friend, and French Class mascot, Alphose the Turkey, wishes you all a good Turkey Time, too! **

**--DML**


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